Naruto: Champion of Avalon
by Quick-n-Popular
Summary: Ever since the age of six, Naruto has changed. Declared as "Avalon's Champion" by a woman made entirely out of water, who gives him the sword Excalibur; Naruto sets out to prove himself and to set his name in history. Naruto X FemHaku. Please R&R.
1. Prologue: Chosen

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Disclaimer: "Naruto" and all of its characters, with the exception of those that I introduce, are sole properties of their respective owner(s). The same goes for "King Arthur" and everything related to.

Chapter One: Prologue: Chosen

They say when you're a child that the whole world is a treasure; that life, with its pains and pleasures, will pave the path and shape you as an adult. However, for one Uzumaki Naruto, the latter, sadly, was something that either was forbidden to him or plainly didn't exist. As far as the six year old could remember, his life has always been a constant struggle. For some inexplicable reason, his village, the place of his birth; had condemned him to an existence of being the subject to pure hatred and living in constant fear for his well-being. No one explained the beatings, tauntings, and the other horrible atrocities made by the villagers and the Shinobi that became a daily gauntlet the poor six year old boy had to run through. The only things he had to go on were the common phrases in the shouts of pain and anger by the people towards him: "Demon", "Kyuubi-brat", and "The Yondaime's Mistake"; all of these which Made little to no sense to the boy. He had remembered, one time in the orphanage, eavesdropping on storytime, something he was never allowed to attend; hearing the matron telling the story of the village's Yondaime Hokage. How he single-handedly defeated the dreaded nine-tailed fox, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Naruto became confused as to why so many people would mistake him for something that sounded so cruel and horrible. Again, no one would willingly give him answers to these questions. His kindly benefactor, the Sandaime Hokage, made excuses as to the reasons behind the behaviors and treatment towards Naruto. He explained it to him, at one time, as them, unfortunately; using Naruto as a scapegoat to try and unburden themselves from the reminders of that horrible event six years ago. Naruto had begged the Hokage to make more sense on the issue, but he refused to budge, instead telling the boy that when he was older, he'd be able to explain it more thoroughly. Amongst the very few that treated him with kindness, the Ichirakus, who owned a ramen stand that Naruto frequented on a daily basis; also remained vague as the reasons behind the village's contempt towards the boy. Teuchi and his daughter Ayame would usually look upon the major populace of the village with distaste, muttering things like "fools" and "idiots". In the end, Naruto was left with more questions and with no answers. One question that lingered on his mind amidst the ones that questioned his treatment in the village, was if the hostility he saw on a day-to-day basis was also mirrored by his absent mother and father, whoever they were or are. The answer to this question terrified him more than the thought of what the citizens of Konohagakure had next for him as his punishment for existing. The Hokage tried to assure him that it wasn't the case, however, he didn't go any further, much to Naruto's disappointment.

So Here was Naruto today, and today was like any other day, unfortunately. Three drunk off-duty Shinobi, followed by half-a-dozen vindictive citizens, gave chase to the poor boy in the nearly midnight hour. They covered all the alleyways and made any evasion within the village impossible. It left him with only one option and it was one where they would likely not be held accountable for; they were going to drive him out of the gates of the village and into the forest beyond. The six year old, in his panic-induced state, had no idea of their goal but was simply lead by blind-desperation. The desire to escape the violence, curses, and ridicule promised by those who were pursuing him made leaving village more desirable as the chase intensified. Sadly, the guards stationed at the gate have always remained indifferent in the on-goings of the boy's torture. Trying their best to be helpful, even though they were impartial to the boy; they did their job in reporting the manner to ANBU and the Hokage just as they saw Naruto's retreating figure growing fainter into the woods.

Naruto's feet had carried him along way. Despite his senses telling his mind that there was no longer any danger coming after him, his terror was still at its peak and the urge to flee dwarfed all other information coming to him as he continued to run, in his state, through the trees. The ground though brought reality back to him, albeit cruelly, as it left from underneath him and went into a steep decline. Naruto was soon stumbling, then tripping, somersaulting, and colliding with everything on the ground as he was tossed around like a rag doll. Soon, a protruding rock from the ground granted Naruto the blissfulness granted by darkness as it was the last thing he saw in his fall….

* * *

Moments later, Naruto's eyes slowly opened. Blinking several times before wincing at the excruciating pain and pounding from his head, he slowly lifted his body from the cold grass he was on only to find his movements were shaky and distorted. Pain seemed to rack his entire body, a warm wetness was felt on half of his face and within the confines of his spiky blonde hair. Shakily moving his left hand up, he touched his face first and brought the hand in front of him and saw that it was dripping with his blood.

Naruto sighed despondently; getting hurt and the sight of his own blood was something he had overcame awhile back, it has been a constant in his life.

Moving a few foot paces ahead, Naruto found that his right arm had been broken by the fall and now was hanging painfully limp at his side. Again, unfazed, he sighed tiredly, this time, as he then looked away from his arm and, for the first time since he came to; at his surroundings.

He was at the bottom of a gorge which had a lake being fed fed from a river that came from a waterfall. Naruto gaped in awe at the cliff-side where the waterfall was as two imposing, in Naruto's opinion "very cool", looking figures stood opposing one another in challenging postures. The waterfall was the thing that stood between them and it too was breath taking. All of it, in Naruto's young eyes was beautiful. The stone figures, the waterfall, the river, and the lake, which seemed to span off for miles on out; all of it was impressive and visually beautiful in the evening hour.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he settled himself down on the grass in a sitting position, trying to be mindful of his arm as it reminded him of its condition immediately. Naruto knew that the Hokage, or "Oji-san" as he affectionately called him, would be sending out ANBU to locate him so it would be best to stay put and wait for them. He decided to occupy his time by taking in all the scenery that was lit under the moon in a very pleasant glow.

"_Come to me, child."_

Naruto's body stiffened. He thought he was alone out here. Something, or someone, was calling out. By the sound, it was feminine but the voice was so rich, it couldn't possibly be human.

"_You need not fear. Please, come to me."_

Naruto gulped. He could hear the voice clearly that time as well as where it was originating from. His eyes slowly descended upon the lake where he could see ripples coming from the surface. There was no wind in the air and no wildlife, which meant someone was causing those ripples. Naruto was beginning to feel his panic come back to him and the urge to take flight. However, there was another sensation: curiosity. Much to his surprise, it overcame the other feelings as he was soon painfully back on his feet, his eyes glued to the Lake's surface as he slowly made his way. He was cautious, as he has always been, living in the day-by-day tests of survival; he stopped five feet away from the water's edge and his eyes widened as the lake took on a luminescent glow. Naruto, at this point was nervous. Who was this person, where were they? His trust was tangible and he has never been gullible when it came to people stating things to him under "It'll be ok" or "You have nothing to fear". Too many counts of being tricked, hurt, both physically and emotionally, poisoned; all under the pretense of kindness by those around him. He was wary about this stranger calling out to him, but, again, his curiosity wanted to see where this was going to go.

_Naruto Uzumaki, I promise you you'll receive no harm or deceit in our meeting. I know of your life and the betrayals and pain that comes with it. I am NOT one of those who wish to take advantage in order to hurt you."_

Naruto's eyes widened, in a larger size, this time. Had this person, or whatever it was, read his thoughts and what he was feeling right now? His young mind couldn't comprehend anybody having the ability to do that. Granted, living in the Shinobi world, Naruto has been told of many of the fantastic things ninja do, by the Hokage. However, this wasn't in the old man's itinerary of lists of things shinobi can do.

Deciding to be brave about this, Naruto unsteadily walked forward about two feet more and was just a foot away from the water's edge. It was here that the glowing water seemed to rise up on high in the middle of the lake. It rose ten feet high in the air as a gyser before some of the water came back down and what was left astounded Naruto. It took on the shape of a woman. With long hair, a thin frame, and features that he has seen on woman in their middle years; Naruto's breath was seemingly gone as he gaped at the spectacle before him. He was rewarded with something more as the 'water woman' began smiling and one of her arms went behind her as the other made a welcoming gesture.

"_Young Naruto Uzumaki, I welcome you, the brave boy whose life had been destined to carry with it a terrible burden few would be able to endure." _

Naruto blinked, owlishly, after hearing her speech. His vocabulary, for his age was limited, in some cases more than what it should be; however, he heard one word he was having difficulty understanding than the others she used.

"D-Destined?" He croaked out.

The woman made out of water smiled and nodded. _"Yes, 'destined'. However, I'm here to change what your destiny was to be as Avalon has decided to grant you a new one."_

Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Avalon? Who's that?"

The woman smiled, amused by the child take on what she had said. _"Avalon, dear boy, is not a person but a paradise that foresees all whom it chooses to be its champion; to become the greatest in their time." _She then clasped her hands together and slowly pulled them apart. In between them, a heavenly glow seemed to grow in her watery palms and then seemed to encompass them as she brought her hands farther apart. Naruto felt the light to be blinding, he used his only available hand to shield his eyes. Much to his relief, the light soon faded. When Naruto looked back at the woman his breath was hitched in his throat as his eyes nearly bugged out at what he saw next.

In the woman's hands, was a sheathed sword. It was beautiful and mysterious at the same time. The scabbard was sapphire-blue, laced with intricate gold designs from top to tip. The hand-guard was a brilliant silver and curved close to the handle. The handle was wrapped in brown leather and the end piece was almost in a diamond shape with a ruby adorning its center.

Naruto was transfixed on the weapon, sheathed, in all; he didn't know how long he was looking at it but he soon snapped out of his spell as he heard the mysterious woman talking again, smiling again.

"_I present Excalibur to you, Naruto Uzumaki. This is your inheritance from Avalon. It will take you many places and bring victory in the darkest of times that are sure to come in your future life as a shinobi. It will also make people look up to you and bring respect from those that doubt your strength." _She then sighed as she looked down at the weapon in her hands. _"However, like the weapon itself, this gift is double-edged. Many will want to have this blade for themselves and thus will seek your death to obtain it."_

Naruto took a step back, startled, after hearing that warning. However, his mind was too happy at the prospect that he, the "Demon of Konoha" would be given a treasure such as this.

The mysterious woman closed her eyes before slowly opening them and looking at Naruto with a look of saddened seriousness. _"Naruto Uzumaki, before Excalibur can be given to you, Avalon deems it essential that your body and soul is purified. For it won't let something as sinister and malicious as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, even though it resides within you; warp its benevolent purpose."_

Naruto nearly fumbled backwards as his eyes widneed in confusion, shock, and fear at what the watery woman had said.

"W-What d-did you say?"

The woman took a look of confusion before her eyes widened and she smiled sadly at the boy. _"I see. So no one has told you what has been put upon you or rather in you, Naruto."_

Naruto shook his head viciously.

The mysterious woman nodded. _"Well then, the day you were born, the fourth king, or Yondaime Hokage, in your language; when all else failed, decided to put the soul of the beast that had terrorized the village into a new born babe. That child, in time, would drain the Kyuubi of all of its chakra, all of its life and existence; thus saving your village." _After seeing Naruto's reaction to this important revelation, she easily predicted where his thoughts and emotions were leading him to next. She raised a placating finger up, _"However, Naruto, this does NOT make you the demon itself, or a demon because of it. You are your own unique, kind, person. One of such that Avalon was to seek you out and make you its newest champion."_

Naruto closed his mouth, which at first was about to cry out in despair at his fears becoming real, but the woman took away all the doubt and worries he was about to make and instead told him what he needed to hear. Her words comforted him more than he has been in a long time and he was happy. Naruto then gave her one of the rarest things he would ever bestow upon an individual, even those closest to him. A genuine smile.

"Thank you." He whispered, a single tear shedding from his slightly damp eyes.

The woman smiled and nodded. Her features returned to their seriousness from before as she looked at the sword.

_As I said before, Naruto, Excalibur needs to purify your soul and body of the Kyuubi before it can accept you as its new master. I will not lie, it will hurt more than you've ever experienced or have endured. Will you accept this?"_

Naruto was ready for this question as he had already made up his mind. How could he possibly deny her? She was going to rid him of the very thing that the people of his village hated him for. Although, putting on a brave front, the prospect of pain WAS a little unsettling and he tried not to betray the brave image he was showing.

"Yes, ma'am." He said politely, which caused her to chuckle at his eagerness to please her. She nodded and then brought the blade high above her head, the point of the still sheathed blade pointing down towards Naruto.

"_Are you ready?" _She asked.

Naruto nodded and then screwed his eyes shut and braced himself as much as he could for whatever was to come.

The woman then threw the sword down at Naruto, the sound it made, in Naruto's ears, was that reminiscent of a screetching hawk swooping down on its prey.

As the sword drew near, the scabbard soon left the weapon and landed solidly next to Naruto, who opened his eyes in surprise by the sound, however they soon became wider as he glimpsed at the rapidly approaching weapon as the, now naked, blade was glowing an indescribable color that seemed otherworldly. However, Naruto's eyes went from awe to shock as he felt the blade skewer him through his belly.

Unknown to Naruto, no blood came from the penetration, more so, it went completely through Naruto, hilt and all, burying itself in the ground behind him.

Naruto, though, had felt it. His mouth contorted into a shape appropriate for some emitting an ear-piercing scream. No sound came out of him and his body fell like a puppet who's strings had been cut and his whole body twisted and contorted like a flopping fish on dry land. Naruto's eyes then rolled back into his head and he became still, twitching for every few seconds until stopping completely and then his eyelids closed.

Around Naruto, a mist of red chakra swirled from his abdomen and from it an image surfaced. The Kyuubi with a full set of fangs which would have been snarling at a time, were now giving out a painful yowl. The yowl soon died out as did the image. The chakra, though, slowly descended back into the confines of Naruto abdominal area.

When Naruto awoke, he felt as if he had been sleeping for weeks on end, if not months. Groaning and blinking several times, he placed his hands on the surface underneath him and his eyes widen as it soon registers in his mind that he was lying on grass. He rose his body up and shaked his head several times, trying to remove the cobwebs as he tried to recall how he got out doors. He then registered it was nighttime as the light from the was absent.

"_Naruto." _

He heard a pleasant woman's voice. It wasn't Ayame-chan but it sounded familiar. When Naruto looked to the place where he heard the voice and who it belonged to, it all came back to him. Running from the people who chased him from the village to the forest, coming to the lake, meeting the mysterious water lady, finding out why his home hated him, and then-

Naruto's eyes widened as he finally recalled what had happened before he closed his eyes. He immediately looked down at his stomach and was surprised to see his white t-shirt clean with no bloodstains. It became apparent to him as he felt around that his broken arm was fixed too! Naruto looked at the woman on the water who was smiling at him. She also seemed to be gesturing with her head. Naruto looked at her confusedly before looking around and then stopping at what lay behind him.

It was Excalibur. The sword was buried two feet from him and the scabbard lay at his side. Naruto felt his heart in his throat as he slowly gulped. He then, slowly, reached out and let his fingers graze the handle of the sword. It was then that he felt encouraged as a voice inside of himself was cheering him on and its spell worked. Naruto's whole hand soon wrapped tightly around the handle and he slowly lifted out of the confines of the earth. To his surprise, it was light and he could hold it in one hand without trouble. His eyes widened as something else happened. Things were coming in his mind, telling him things about the sword. It filled his head with information like the history of the sword, previous owners, jutsus applied to the sword, kenjutsu-katas, etc. It wasn't over-powering and it seemed to work with his intellect and mind pace. When it was finished Naruto had smiled at the sword before mouthing a 'thank you' to it. Whether it was the sword who was filling his head with the information, or something else, he just felt it was appropriate to give thanks to whomever was helping him. He had always been polite and grateful to those that have helped him. He never took for granted anyone who gave him kindness, for it was rare. For that matter, he turned back to the mysterious woman who was made of water and gave her a look of appreciation as well.

The woman smiled and nodded in response.

"_You've done remarkably, young Naruto. Better than some who've had to go through something similar that I have seen."_

The woman then closed her eyes and looked as though she was thinking.

_Our time together is about over. Others are on their way here to bring you back to your village. I advise you to hide Excalibur as I had said before, should anyone learn of it, they will attack, lie, or try to convince you to give it away, in order to have it for themselves. Though they will never be able to wield it, as it is now forever linked only to your soul, it'd be wise, my dear boy; to wait until you are strong enough to fight these people before revealing it to the world."_

Naruto nodded but then look scared as he soon caught upo with what she had said earlier.

"Wait! Miss! Are you really leaving? Please don't leave me! I don't even know your name!"

The woman opened her eyes and smiled. She opened her arms and seemed to glide down from where she was perched on the geyser of water, which seemed to flow with her; to Naruto and enveloped him in a, surprisingly, warm, hug.

"_I'm a afraid I do not possess a name, dear, sweet, Naruto. I have been known simply as the "Lady of the Lake" or "Mistress of Avalon", As for my leaving you…Please, do not fret. I will ALWAYS be watching and will take immense pride in the accomplishments you are sure to make in the years to come. Remember Naruto, even though this will be our only meeting, I, Avalon; we will always be with you."_

Naruto was sobbing into her shoulder, which if he would have been more observant, he would have realized that this woman, despite being of water; portrayed herself nude and may have been a little more weirded out. Being innocent and naïve had its moments. However, despite being ignorant of the fact, he was clinging onto her as if life depended on it. He loosened his hold, though, when he felt her hand come underneath his chin and raised his head so he would be looking at her. He reluctantly opened his eyes and he saw her lovely visage, smiling at him.

"_Grow strong, Naruto Uzumaki; use Excalibur to wipe the evil away from this world and rightfully set your place in history."_

Naruto nodded as he wiped away the stranded tears with his free hand, the other holding Excalibur, tightly.

The mysterious Mistress of Avalon smiled as she nodded and then floated back to the middle of the water.

"_Farwelll."_ She said and as soon as the words were uttered, her whole body exploded into a splash of water that seemed to slow as it rained lightly onto the surface of the water.

Naruto wiped away the remaining tears from his eyes and then stood.

"Have you found him?" A voice came from behind him, far out into the forest.

He's over there. Let's make this quick, the Hokage is in a bad mood already for him having been chased out by the villagers." Replied another.

Naruto stood rigid as it became clear to him that he was about to be taken back to Konoha, the place where everyone, except a select few, hated him. He looked at Excalibur in his hand, he then remembered the Mistress of Avalon's words. Naruto walked over, picked up the scabbard, and re-sheathed the weapon. Nodding, he then recalled what the sword had taught him and uttered, "Toku" (Hide). The results were instantaneous; the blade shimmered until it was invisible. Naruto then parted the back of the collar of his shirt and slid Excalibur all the way down till the tip of the scabbard went through his black pants and it met his tailbone. However, in its invisible-state, it gave nothing away visually and his clothes looked as though they were just as they always were. Naruto sighed in relief and wiped his face with the back of his hand. His eyes then went wide as he then looked over to the water's edge, at his reflection.

The whisker-like birthmarks from having the Kyuubi inside of him, were gone. His cheeks were completely unblemished. How was he going to explain their absence? He doubted heavily that even the Hokage would buy a "I don't know" answer from him. In the end, he would have more trouble and people would think the worst of him.

With this in mind and knowing how limited his time was before the ANBU would be there, Naruto looked desperately for an answer to his predicament. He soon found it in the form of some earth that was relatively black. It was a temporary solution and he didn't have any other ideas to go on. So grabbing a three fingers full of the earth, he quickly went back to the water's edge and began making the lines he was well known for, in addition to the other things. He decided it was expectable for now just as the four ANBU members came into the clearing.

"Ah, here you are." Ones said, lazily; his face hidden by an Inu mask. "Come, we're here to take you back to the village. The villagers will think twice about harming you while we're around and the Hokage is anxious to see you."

Naruto nodded dumbly as his mind was going through a multitude of things; his thoughts were scarcely on the present.

He walked forward and took the outstretched hand of another member whose mask resembled a neko.

"I'm happy to see you're safe, Naruto-kun." She said, warmly.

Naruto smiled at her. She was one of the few who was both kind and concerned for him whenever she has gotten word of something happened to him. She always visited him before the Hokage if he was ever in the hospital.

"Thank you, Neko-san." He replied.

She nodded and then turned to the Inu-masked ANBU leader. "Taichou, should we get going?"

Inu nodded and soon the three of them, plus Naruto, were traveling through the forest on their way back to Konoha.

With Neko holding his legs as he was on her back, Naruto had onr of his arms wrapped tightly, but not constricting underneath her neck. Naruto used the other to reach and touch the hilt of Excalibur behind him. He was grateful that it masked its weight as well. It clung to him and never moved despite the pace they were going.

"_Nothing's ever going to be the same."_ Naruto thought. A smile crept onto his face, threatening to become one of his fake grins that he used around the village, although this time it would be an honest one. _"I think I'll like it, though."_

To be continued….

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.

Q-n-P


	2. The truth revealed

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Two: The truth revealed

Six years had passed since that fateful day. Since then, Naruto Uzumaki had become a different person. However, those around him would never know, even those he considered close.

Since that time, Naruto had begun to train in secret as much as possible, which was hard considering the Hokage had put an ANBU member to follow him wherever he went, due to the incident with the villagers chasing him out of the village. He circumvented this by applying his Toku ability, from Excalibur to himself. Whenever this was active, he would remain forever invisible as long as he allowed it. He had to be careful, though as if he were to be absent or ditch the ANBU too many times, he was sure that the Old Man himself might send more to find out what was happening to him. Thus, the only times he was visible to the ANBU was when he was doing his calisthenics, practicing his throwing, doing the Academy's Taijutsu katas, or his daily sprints around the village. Therefore, twice every week he would lose the ANBU tailing him, then slip into invisibility, and begin his **true** training.

Deceiving the ANBU was not the only thing he remained vigilant on for the past six years, no, there were several others. After learning the Henge no jutsu, he fixed the problem of the absence of his whisker-like birthmarks and elongated incisors. It became a constant every morning to apply the jutsu and he became thankful no one was checking to see if Naruto was under any Henge. The other thing he practiced on a daily routine was to portray someone totally naïve and eager to get the approval of everyone around him. He put on this façade complete with boastings on how he was the best ninja ever and that he was going to become Hokage on day! He sported ( henge'd) a hideous orange jumpsuit that was practically a bulls-eye walking in public and he acted the proud person of a lover of the ghastly color for a ninja. In the Academy, he kept his scores to a pitiful state just to be safe that no one would be wiser to his ruse. Actually, it was made easier by the wide array of teachers who viewed him as the 'Kyuubi-reincarnate' and that their arrogance and predisposition towards him would lead them to either ignore him, when he raised his hand, or to give him tests that only a Chuunin would be capable of answering. If not for that fateful night six years ago, Naruto might have taken offense or be hurt by the means these teachers' actions. However, Naruto had long since shed the idealism that everyone would be welcoming or accepting of him now that he was older and was on the road to become a ninja for the village.

The way his peers looked at him went as he had planned as well. His constant boasting of being the best but doing poorly while trying to make a rival out of the top student in the class, Uchiha Sasuke, painted his character another shade of stupid and naïve. To top it all off, proclaiming his love and admiration for the top, soon-to-be-Kunoichi, Haruno Sakura cemented his image In the eyes of those like Nara Shikamaru, who would have been a problem had he been more inquisitive or suspicious of Naruto's all too loud, idiotic, characteristics. He furthered it all by making himself a prankster of the village, going as far as to deface the Hokage Monument early in the morning and then be led in a high-speed chase throughout the village by the Shinobi; laughing like an idiot the entire way. However, an unknown variable came his way in the form of Umino Iruka, one of his two senseis in class. Before, he was yet another of the mass of 'hate the boy because he's really the Kyuubi' crowd. However, before Naruto knew it, the man was taking him away from the Academy after class and treating him at Ichiraku's. Naruto summarized it all after the first week of when this happened: guilt. Somehow, the man grew some common sense, a moment of self-reflection, and has seen the light; Naruto slowly felt this man becoming one of the very few he trusted and would defend with his very life with if their lives were in danger. Regardless though, he had to keep up with the pretenses that he's made up of himself and treat this man like everyone else, even those he trusted like the Hokage and the Ichiraku's.

How long would he keep playing this role, the idiot, the clown, the baka-loser, the Dobe, the Kyuubi brat?

Only when he had finally got caught or had no choice but to show his true colors.

Today was the day of the Genin Exam and so far, the entire thing was predictable with a capital "P". Iruka had everyone take a test and Mizuki, Iruka's assistant, with a thinly-veiled hate for Naruto; would give everyone the correct test, save for him.

Naruto was tempted to answer the test correctly and watch the scene play out, however he was reminded as to the reasons why he had worked so hard to keep these pretenses about himself into place. Sighing, he put on his best-horrified and panicked expression as he held his head down in shame as to not being able to answer the test. He could hear, though he doubt anyone else could, Mizuki's whisper-like sniggers at the boy's despair under the cover of that fake smile he always portrayed. Naruto always hated that smile; he would have loved nothing more than to make it so the man could no longer work his jaw properly ever again. Again, though, he would play the naïve troublemaker. The day ended as planned, with Mizuki acting more and more caviler about Naruto's impending failure, Naruto decided to toss in the towel and deliberately fail his bushin test in the part of the Geni Exam and see where it will all play out. Much to Naruto's disappointment, it turned out too good. Mizuki actually had him pegged for someone desperate enough that they would steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's Tower in an effort to be granted the first status of a Shinobi of Konoha. Being busted by the old man would not be good if he wished to remain in the Academy after all of this and even with the reality of this being a traitor using a poor, dumb, kid; the Old Man may not be so lenient as he has been so many times in the past. However, one of the rarest opportunities to actually study from the Forbidden Scroll under the disguise of childish curiosity, was just too hard to pass up.

Getting the scroll was easy, as the Sandaime Hokage was a closeted pervert. Using that weakness against him in one of the jutsu he had used to give his façade more character; the only problem that now lay was how fast would some of the other village's Shinobi catch him before he can actually study more than one jutsu from the scroll?

It didn't take that very long, but Naruto had managed to learn three altogether from the scroll before being confronted by an irate Iruka.

"Wait, Iruka-sensei! I learned one of the jutsus from this scroll, so I can pass, right? Just like Mizuki-sensei said I would if I stole the scroll and then learned a jutsu from it?" Naruto asked as he laid it thick with the enthusiasm dripping with unbridled hope.

Iruka however had wide eyes as his mind comprehended what Naruto had said before he sensed something and rushed at Naruto, shoving him forward and away just as Iruka, now in the place Naruto was; got peppered by a mixture of kunai and shurikan. Iruka grunted in pain as he collapsed to the ground and even more so, when he staggered onto his arms as he looked at Naruto in a desperate-state.

"N-Naruto r-run! Mizuki…"

Naruto however was glued to the spot, his eyes wide as he looked upon Iruka in genuine shock as to what his sensei did. His resolve to stay in character wavered but he quickly shook it off as Mizuki appeared in the branches above, a fuma shuriken strapped to his back, his face twisted in sick pleasure.

"Ah, I see you've beaten me to him, Iruka. Naruto! Give me the scroll!" He commanded, holding out his hand.

"Don't, Naruto!" Iruka grunted. "Mizuki lied to you; he wanted to trick you into stealing the Forbidden Scroll for himself!"

Naruto played the naïve part again and looked aghast at both Iruka's injured form to Mizuki in the branches above.

"Wha-what do you mean, Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

"Naruto," Mizuki fiendishly grinned, "Do you want to know what Konoha, and everyone in it, has been keeping secret from you?"

"Mizuki, No! It's forbidden!" Iruka called out to his former friend.

"What?" Naruto asked, knowing inside what Mizuki was going to say, but decided to keep on playing his part while Iruka was here, lest his secret get out too early.

Mizuki stood up on the branch, grinning triumphantly as he brought the fuma shuriken from his back. "That you, Naruto Uzumaki, are holding within you, the Nine-tailed fox! The reason that all of the villagers hate you, steer their children away from you, is because YOU are the demon that the Yondaime Hokage failed to kill!"

Iruka got up on his legs shakily as he shouted, "Naruto, don't listen to him!"

Mizuki tsk'd as he shook his head at Iruka. "Iruka, Iruka. Why are you so adamant about protecting this thing? After all, wasn't it the Kyuubi who took away your parents from you when you were a child? We were one of a kind, you and I. We both loathed and hated this creature and cursed him ever since he walked into our classroom. You still feel this way, do you not?"

Iruka shook his head, "No!"

Mizuki shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Soon, I'll be regarded as a hero for taking down the Kyuubi myself and be rewarded with the Forbidden Scroll! Now, die, demon!" Mizuki then hurled the giant shuriken at Naruto but his triumphant smirk left his face and a glare surfaced as Iruka jumped into the path of the deadly bladed object intended for the boy.

Iruka fell once more and feebly attempted to stand again but instead slumped down to the ground after coughing out a mouthful of blood.

Naruto found himself in the same state of confusion mixed with horror as his sensei now twice had taken the blows for him. For the first time, in six years, Naruto's mask fell and the real him surfaced.

"W-Why?" Naruto asked.

Iruka smirked, despite being on the verge of blacking out; he coughed up blood once more before responding.

"C….Cause we are the same….Naruto. I…too looked for attention….when my parents had died to….mask the pain of having lost them. I….know that kind of loneliness all….too….well…." Iruka then fell face forward, onto the ground; having lost so much blood that he entered the blissful world of unconsciousness.

Mizuki landed behind Iruka, scoffing at the sentimental speech made by the man before turning back to Naruto who, to his surprise, was now looking at him with a fierceness he had never seen before other than in much older Shinobi.

"I'll warn you this once, Mizuki. You so much as breathe on my sensei and I'll remove your head right here and now from where it stands."

Taken aback by the brat's tone and the threat he made, Mizuki soon regained his resolve by smirking.

"So, demon, you're finally showing your true colors. However, with all your "training" at the Academy, I know just how empty your little threat is."

Naruto smirked as he reached to his back. "You do, do you? Well bastard, get ready for a surprise you won't live to tell about. Mosaru (Reveal)!"

Mizuki quirked an eyebrow up at the words but soon both brows were raised and his eyes widened as he saw the boy's appearance change dramatically. Gone was the short boy in the horrid orange jumpsuit. In his place was now a preteen standing about two inches shorter than he was. The boy was wearing a white form-fitting tunic over a metal mesh protection and a green leather short coat with a hood. He wore metal plated gloves and his black cargo pants were wrapped with multiple senbon, kunai, shuriken, and throwing knives of all different varieties. Strapped by a black leather belt were two kukiris, curved knives, leaving the boy a fearsome character in weaponry. However, two things startled Mizuki the most, one was that there was the boy's whisker-like birthmarks, a "mark" left by Kyuubi, absent from the boy's now slender face. The other was an elegant sheathed sword strapped to Naruto's back tied from his shoulder to his left hip with a brown cloth, which seemed to give off some kind of divine glow. The boy, whose eyes were closed opened them to reveal his sapphire orbs that seemed to shimmer, even with the absent of light in the evening hour. The boy at first reached for the sword on his back before frowning and shaking his head.

"No, I don't want to tarnish Excalibur with your traitorous blood, Mizuki-teme. No, I think Byakuya and Tsuki will suit to your execution better." Naruto said, more to himself, as his hand moved from the hilt of his sword to the handles of the kukiris on his sides.

Mizuki frowned and steadied himself as he took out a kunai and braced for what might ever come. Surely, this wasn't the same brat he kept on failing time and again in the classroom. No, this was a stranger in the skin of that boy. Could it be the Kyuubi using some trick? If so, when has the demon ever relied on weapons when it, known by its animalistic-ferocity alone, used only its body to wreck havoc and destruction? Mizuki had no answer and right now, he did NOT like the situation he was in.

Naruto could see the response he was getting from the revelation of what he truly looked like. He liked it and even more he was liking the idea of carving this bastard into something more deserving of his image. He pulled out the blades, twiriling them expertly in his hands. These were his second favorite weapon, Excalibur being the first. He remembered how he had found them badly damaged lying in a scrap pile outside of a weapons shop and how he painstakingly brought them back to life. Now, they were going to be put to use against the traitor before him.

"Don't act so surprised, Mizuki. After all, you of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving especially from right from the beginning." Naruto closed his eyes before snapping them open, his blue-sapphire orbs glowing more brilliantly, "Now, prepare yourself!" Naruto then disappeared from Mizuki's sight only to reappear right in front of him and then he hacked off the man's right arm followed by the left leg and then, in the same quick procession; slammed the butt-end of the hilt upwards at the man's jaw causing Mizuki to fly back. It had all been over so fast that Mizuki wasn't even granted the freedom to scream in pain from having two of his limbs removed, as he was sent spiraling into darkness.

Naruto stood, impassively, over, Mizuki's bloody form. His eyes were cold and hard and he stepped closer but then came to a stop as soon as he heard a groan come from Iruka nearby. He closed his eyes as he weighed the differences in either finishing off Mizuki as he had promised or left him as he was. He decided the latter as he knew the consequences of his killing a Shinobi, be he a traitor or not, would likely spell doom to himself. As he put the kukiris away, he knew ANBU would be here soon to retrieve the scroll and himself so it was best to resume his role again and rouse Iruka if he wanted to get out of this thing as an innocent, if dim-witted, party. But before that, he had to make sure Mizuki had his story straight for the interrogators that most likely try to get the story out of the disarmed and leg'd man.

Naruto walked up and got on his knees as he took out Excalibur from its sheathe and held it by the blade and the handle over Mizuki and whispered a few sayings before the blade turned a blue color matching his eyes. It soon dimmed out and Naruto nodded before re-sheathing Excalibur and then stood up. He could hear ANBU closing in, so he quickly formed the Henge again to go back to his character's form.

Iruka came to after Naruto removed all of the remaining weapons from his front and back and afterwards bandaged the man to the best of his ability. Reluctantly, he had done the same with Mizuki, making two tourniquets for his arm and leg. Iruka's reaction to seeing the state Mizuki was in, looked at Naruto in surprise with a mixture of a little wariness. However, knowing how fragile the boy might be already, due to having such a bomb dropped on him by Mizuki revealing the reason behind the villagers and other teachers' treatment of him; he decided not to address what had happened when he had passed out, at this time.

"Are you alright, Iruka-sensei?" He heard Naruto ask, cautiously.

Iruka looked at the boy, remembering that the boy had heard all that Mizuki had said including what Iruka's past disposition had been on him and yet he was still concerned. Iruka couldn't have been more proud.

Iruka smiled, "Close your eyes, Naruto. There's something I want to give to you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, watched on his crystal sphere Iruka presenting Naruto with his own hitae-ate and congratulating him on passing and the boy's immediate response by glomping the teacher and yelling happily about having passed. However, the Hokage didn't share the same merriment the two were exhibiting as he was troubled by what had transpired earlier, Naruto's, now, obvious fake characteristics, and the exquisite sword he seemed to possess that was now invisibly held to his back. The Hokage was going to make sure that before the day was done, he'd know all there is to know about the boy he thought he knew.

To be continued…

A/N: sorry the battle between Naruto and Mizuki was so anticlimactic, but there will be more and better ones to come, I assure you. This was just me flexing my legs about what Excalibur could do in Naruto's world as a sword, first.

A/N II: Please review.

Q-n-P


	3. Trust, Senseis, and a Sparring Partner

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-popular

Chapter Three: Trust, Senseis, and Sparring Partners

After the retrieval of the disfigured Mizuki and the Forbidden Scroll, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, sent for both Iruka and Naruto to come and report on the incident. During this time, Iruka proudly and protectively talked about the incident where Naruto had bested a person of higher rank and abilities and then swore on his honor as a Shinobi that Naruto was duped into stealing the scroll.

Sarutobi took all of this in, although his gaze never left Naruto, who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat while blushing at Iruka's praise. The Hokage wondered though, what was genuine from the boy as from what he saw on his crystal sphere, told him that the boy has been keeping a lot a secret from everybody, even from him. Sarutobi thanked Iruka for his report and asked him to leave after promising the man that Naruto wasn't in any trouble and that he needed to talk to the boy in private. After Iruka had left, he turned his attention to Naruto and took out his pipe as he sighed.

"Naruto. What would you say if I told you I saw everything of what happened in the past several hours from this room?" He watched to see what the boy's reaction would be from here.

Naruto's reaction was dramatic as his "mask" slipped off and he sighed as he straightened himself from his slouching form to a more straightened and at attention state.

"Oji-san, before we continue, could you please tell the ANBU here to leave us alone?"

Sarutobi smiled as he heard the affectionate nickname he used, used in honesty; thus showing that their relationship was a real one to Naruto and not something he had made up or used to his advantage. Sarutobi nodded and made a hand sign and soon there were loud 'whooshes' as those who were not seen in the room had left. The Hokage then made more hand signs and soon an invisible barrier was erected.

"I also placed a protection barrier, applied with a sound proof one; no one will know of this conversation, Naruto."

Naruto nodded and then stood up and faced the Hokage with his back to him.

"One thing you should know, Oji-san. I've only acted the way I have to make sure no one was going to come after me or question my behavior enough that people might think that the Kyuubi was influencing me. I'm sorry that I had to portray the person I've been living to the ones I trust and love the most but I had to make sure my secret would be safe."

While surprised about the tone and speech the boy was using, opposed to the 'happy-go-luck' boy he knew, and proud of how honest he was being that he didn't like lying to those he cared about; Sarutobi was worried what might come next with this 'secret' the boy was talking about.

"What "secret", exactly?" He asked.

Naruto sighed and then faced the Hokage. He told him of what happened six years ago when the villagers and the Shinobi forced him out of the village. He then told him of his meeting with the mysterious Mistress of Avalon, how she told him of the secret of him holding the Kyuubi inside him, and that Avalon had chosen him as its champion.

Sarutobi was astounded by the tale, if not a little suspicious as to what this "Mistress" was and what her ulterior motive was in helping Naruto and revealing a secret that the boy should not have known until he was old enough to handle it. However, last night's events went, Mizuki would have ruined it anyway. He listened as Naruto went further on about the sword Excalibur that Sarutobi had seen.

"She then told me, before Avalon could claim me as its champion, that my body and soul needed to be 'purified' as it was tainted by a sinister, evil, and vindictive being."

Sarutobi's eyes widened and his pipe fell from his mouth. "Are you saying…"

Naruto smiled and undid the henge from himself and soon his entire body changed dramatically as it had when Sarutobi saw it hours earlier from his sphere. Seeing the true thing before his eyes was different entirely. The boy looked now like the younger version of the Fourth Hokage, completely whisker-less and with a lean, baby fat-less, face.

Naruto drew out Excalibur from his back and looked at it, reverentially. "She threw this blade right through me and it claimed the Kyuubi's life as well as healed my injuries from before." To emphasize what he had said, Naruto, first, resheathed Excalibur and then lifted up the bottom of his tunic and the wire-mesh shirt underneath, exposing his perfectly bare, partially toned, stomach. He then channeled some chakra into his hand and then touched his stomach showing that the seal that had once been on him was no longer present.

Sarutobi swallowed as he digested what Naruto had said and took several unsteady breaths. The Kyuubi was finally gone. No more would it be a constant threat to either Naruto or the village. At first, Sarutobi couldn't understand why the boy would want to keep it secret that he no longer held the beast within him, but then, aside from the Hokage, who would believe him? Countless people would question the matter and there would be more who vehemently would deny the truth as the past has shattered so many in the village and blaming the boy was the only way they, unfortunately, could move on. On a political standpoint, it would be best for Naruto to keep up the pretenses that he still held it in him. If word got out to their neighboring villages that Konoha no longer possessed the strongest of all the Bijuu at their disposal, then Konoha could be in danger from massive invasions from places like Kumo or Iwa. No, no matter how much either of them would like it, it was safer for Naruto to be playing the Jinjuuriki as there were too many obstacles in the way for the truth to come out.

As Naruto put his clothes back down, Sarutobi looked at the weapon on Naruto's back and then to Naruto.

"Can I see it?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage and his demeanor changed. He now was serious but then he closed his eyes and sighed.

"She also said that there were going to be many to try to take this sword for themselves and most likely kill me for it; that's why I've had it hidden amongst other things about myself. No one would suspect of the village's naïve troublemaker of possessing such a weapon."

The Hokage felt immense pride in the boy for undertaking such a goal about himself. He was right as if people found out about him having this weapon they most assuredly would have tried to take it from him. The ones that despised him the most would have tried more to kill him then they had before, despite the law. For six whole years this boy has hidden his true potential, intelligence, and skill; all for the sake of survival and to prove that he was worthy of being a Shinobi. Pride was now struggling with guilt inside the Hokage's heart.

Naruto slowly took the sword out again and looked at the Hokage with cautious eyes, "If I let you hold it, would you give it back to me?"

Sarutobi immediately understood the question underneath, 'Would you betray me as so many have before?'. It was a question Naruto, subconsciously, asked everyone he met; Mizuki proved his suspicions last night and now he was testing the Hokage, his Oji-san, with this to see if he still was the man he came to respect and love.

Sarutobi sighed and then smiled. "I will. You've proven last night that you can use it and it seems it's your birthright. I promise I won't betray your trust, Naruto."

Naruto gave a unique genuine smile as he took out the sword once more from behind him and then slowly held out the blade to the Hokage.

Sarutobi nodded as he then reached for and took the blade but did not bring it fully to himself, keeping it still at arms' length towards Naruto's hands.

"Hmm." He said as he balanced in his hands. It was light, yet the edges promised it was deadly. The intricate carvings and designs on the blades surfaces were beautiful and it had no equal. It was peculiar at the handle and guard. The guard's stems were curved and the handle wrapped in brown leather matching the sheath's leather strap. This was both a beautiful and deadly weapon and now it was in the hands of the boy in front of him and, from what he could tell by their conversation and his own personal insight to the boy's lineage; it was clear to him that in the hands of another person it would be wrong. This was the boy's for better or worse.

Sarutobi handed Excalibur back to Naruto who nodded gratefully to the Hokage. Sarutobi then walked back to his desk and sat at it with his fingers interlocking each other. He gazed at the young man in front of him, now with a much different perspective. He had to choose wisely now for the sensei to teach the boy as his other choice, Kakashi Hatake, along with the two Genin; were decided upon the ruse Naruto had created about his image to thwart others who might learn the truth about him. Kakashi would still make an excellent choice; however, it would disservice the boy in the long run as the council were after Kakashi to teach the last loyal Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, and thus would be unable to devote his time towards his other two students. Most likely, Naruto would keep up this charade of his no matter who he was with and that would leave Kakashi even more distant from training the boy, no matter the reason why he was interested in the boy being on his team should he have passed the exams.

….

There was another option and the best part was Naruto was on familiar terms with his fiancé, even though he probably wouldn't know of their relationship to each other. Both are well versed in Kenjutsu thus would prove to be excellent teachers to the boy. Would they do it though? One was a Chuunin, the other a member of ANBU; both loved their duties and have expressed no interest to go outside of them or to go further, much to Sarutobi's disappointment. Naruto, though, was becoming an interesting enigma. Perhaps he might be able to suede them without having to say or do anything.

Sarutobi made a hand signal and then an ANBU appeared with a neko mask on.

"What can I do for you, Hokage-sama." She saluted.

"Neko-san, can you please bring in Hayate-san in, I wish to speak to the both of you." The Hokage directed.

She nodded and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto, confused as to why Neko-san was bringing someone over, looked at the Hokage.

"Uh, Oji-san, am I still needed here?"

The Hokage smiled, "Yes, Naruto. I've just sent her to get someone who'll be one of your two senseis."

Naruto's eyes widened and a grin settled on his face, however it slowly died and he was about to make the hand sign for his henge only to have it stop by the Hokage lifting up his hand.

"You don't have to worry about appearances, Naruto. You have a supporter in Neko-san and Hayate Gekko. They've both expressed that they've thought nothing but the best about you. Trust me, they will NOT, betray your trust."

Naruto scowled, "You said the same thing about the faculty at the Academy. Mizuki changed that."

Sarutobi sighed, "I was wrong then, Naruto. I promise you, it's different here."

Naruto, uneasily, nodded and took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Soon, two clouds of smoke came into the room and two figures appeared, one being Neko-san, the other a medium height man with his hitai-ate used as a bandanna, covering his head. He was pale with dark circles underneath his eyes. He coughed as he saluted the Hokage.

"How may I be of service, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi smiled, "Hayate-san, you are hereby promoted to Jounin, effective immediately. In addition, you are to be given a pupil who'll train under you and Neko-san. Neko-san, you may remove your mask as you'll be reassigned as a Jounin-sensei, as well."

Neko-san removed her mask and cowl to reveal a beautiful woman with shoulder length light-purple hair, her eyes a warm almond color. She smiled as she bowed.

"Shall I go by my name or are you going to designate me one?" She asked.

"You may go by your original, if you like, Uzuki Yugao-san." He said, nodding.

Yugao nodded while Hayate was eyeing the young boy whose back was turned to them, his blonde hair being apparent as to whom he might be, but Hayate wanted a confirmation.

"Is this to be our student?" He asked.

The Hokage nodded which in turn brought the boy from out of his seat and turned to meet them.

Both Hayate and Yugao were speechless when they looked upon the boy, however it didn't last long.

"Y-You look like-" Hayate began before Sarutobi held up a hand to dissuade him from going further.

"Believe it or not, this is Naruto Uzumaki, your new student." The Hokage said.

"Naruto-kun?" Yugao gasped. She could hardly believe her eyes. The young man in front of her was nothing like the young, orange-clad, hyperactive, youth that she knew and had watched over. This was an entirely different person. He was dressed to kill and had seemingly an endless amount of weapons on his legs and sides, and then there was that sword on his back, which looked otherworldly. Glancing over to her fiancé, she could tell that he was impressed by what he saw and was shocked as well as to the boy's appearance.

"Where's your whisker-marks?" He asked.

Yugao looked and was astonished that she had missed that detail when she had looked him over. The boy's birthmarks were gone! So was his baby-fat, his face was beginning to look more adult then that of his peers'.

Naruto, during this whole time was looking sheepishly at the floor and awaiting the worse-case scenario to where they would bombard the Hokage with questions about the Kyuubi, when they didn't he felt his hope soar and by the time Hayate asked his question, he decided that it might be safe to tell his story. He looked up to neko-san, er, Yugao-ne and spoke to her.

"Ne-chan, I have something to tell you that you need to hear."

She nodded and both her and Hayate sat down as they listened to Naruto relate to her, the both of them, what happened prior to when she had found him at the Valley of the End six years ago. He then went on to explain about the choices he had made and the ruse of himself in order to mislead others into believing what they've always thought about him, lest they become suspicious and think the Kyuubi was in control or had gotten out and then blame him in the long run. By the time he had finished, Yugao was both speechless and spellbound. Naruto had morphed under her very eyes into one of the most promising Shinobis to have ever come out of the village. She felt a little hurt, though, that the length of his charade and to include herself as he didn't want to take any risks. However, she forgave him as she could understand the need for secrecy, being a part of ANBU held a great need for things to be tight lipped, even around those close to you.

Yugao stood up and walked over before bending over, slightly, and engulfing the boy in a warm hug.

"I understand, Naruto-kun. I promise that I'll neither steal that beautiful sword from you or betray the trust you've given to me so tenderly. This I promise on my life."

Naruto immediately tear'd up as he gave the hug back what it deserved and wept a little into her shoulder.

Hayate smiled as he watched the proceedings. He always knew that Yugao had a soft spot for Naruto. If it weren't for the fact that he was constantly having to go seek treatment for his illness and her ANBU duties, they would have adopted Naruto. This might settle for the second best, being his teachers. Hayate had a keen eye for those that practiced strenuously in both weaponry and kenjutsu. Seeing the boy's signs of early development in his arms and the callousness of his hands, he could see the boy was serious in his training and profession. However, he needed to know certain things before they proceeded with this apprenticeship.

"Naruto, I assure you I share Yugao-chan's sentiments and will never betray your trust nor steal that which is precious to you."

Naruto smiled genuinely and nodded.

Hayate continued as he stood, coughing a bit before regaining his breath. "Before I begin your instruction, I need to understand, from yourself, both your strengths and your weaknesses, as you perceive them. We'll have a spar tomorrow for me to grasp everything else, but I'd like to hear from your own mouth an evaluation of your skills."

Naruto nodded and let go of Yugao who moved back to sitting next to her fiancé as she to waited to hear what Naruto had to say.

"Well," Naruto began, "I know over twenty-five jutsus related to my sword, Excalibur; that are used either through it or in conjecture with it. For example, I can hide myself and it, or I can heal myself or others with it as well."

All three of the other occupants in the room went wide-eyed by this statement.

"How good of a concealment?" The Hokage asked.

Naruto grinned mischievously, "ANBU has yet to find me when I'm REALLY training. No offense, Yugao-ne."

Yugao smirked, "None taken, Naruto-kun."

"Is that all?" Hayate knew that wasn't it, but despite how impressed he was by the last revelation, he was eager to learn more about the boy.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm proficient in all my weapons, including the kukiris I have. I can proudly say that I could hit the dead-center of the eye of the Nidaime on the Hokage Monument from here with any of the throwing tools I have."

Hayate whistled, Yugao beamed, Sarutobi coughed at the fact Naruto declared something so ill mannered in front of the Hokage, especially one who was known to have been the student of the Nidaime by all.

Naruto continued, "However, it ends there, unfortunately. My taijutsu is abysmal as a ninja but average for a street brawler. My Genjutsu is nonexistent and my jutus only go as far as what we were taught at the academy, the three I learned from the Forbidden Scroll, and the ones that apply only to Excalibur."

The Hokage gasped as he heard the second to last of what Naruto had said.

"You…learned THREE from the FORBIDDEN SCROLL!?"

Yugao and Hayate were also at a state of alarm after hearing that while Naruto took a step back and scratched the back of his head, sheepishly.

"Forgot to tell you that, huh? Heh heh…." He nervously chuckled.

"Naruto…"The Hokage asked, slowly and cautiously. "Which "three" did you learn from that scroll?"

"Kage Bushin…Dai-Kage Bushin…and Hakai no kaze haro." Naruto replied.

The room went silent. No one spoke for several minutes before the Hokage asked, once more, cautiously.

"And…How proficient are you in those three?"

"Since the last eighteen Kage Bushins that I sent out to perform them? Pretty good, I guess. Though I might add, training ground five will need to be replaced, though." Naruto said, smiling.

Hayate sighed, "Well, now I have a rough estimate on what we might need to work on." He became quiet, with exception of a rough cough, as he put his hand to his chin and began thinking. He soon stropped and then looked to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, with your permission, I have a rather unusual request."

Sarutobi, who was still gaping at Naruto, something he hasn't done since Naruto had the audacity to paint the faces of the Hokage Monument in crude symbols; turned his attention to Hayate.

"Yes?"

Hayate stood up, which Yugao followed. "I'd like for Naruto to be paired up with a joint sensei who already has a team and for a member on that team to be jointly used as a sparring partner and part-time teammate, whenever time allows. He'd be able to help in one of Naruto's short comings while his student would help as both she and Naruto specialize in a particular area."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Maito Gai and Tenten Shinomori"

Both the Hokage and Yugao then paled, which caused Naruto to look at the two, inquiringly.

"Who are they?"

* * *

Naruto, under his disguise, went with Hayate and Yugao to training area 13; Yugao whispering something in reluctance under her breath at Hayate who simply shook his head in response. When they came upon the area, Naruto was left speechless. There was a tall, powerhouse of a man with the oddest hairdo matched by the oddest set of shaggy eyebrows barking instructions at his three students. One of his students seemed to be a younger split-image of the man; he was going at blinding speeds hitting a training post with a fierce look of determination in his eyes. Another boy with pure white eyes was striking at a similar post though his was with the most precise strikes making them deadly upon whomever they were to be set upon. Lastly, there was a girl, her hair set in twin buns on top of her head, high in mid-air launching round after round of numerous weapons with no stopping.

Naruto's eyes seemed glazed as he watched her and was transfixed upon her accuracy and agility. However, he snapped out of it when he heard his sensei call for their sensei, Maito Gai.

The man was over in a split second, his teeth shimmering in the sunlight.

"Hayate! You've made Jounin! Congratulations! We need to celebrate later; you too, Yugao-san! Now, how may I help you?" He shouted/greeted them.

Hayate coughed several times before reaching into his pocket and producing the hand-written instructions the Hokage had made prior to their arrival. He gave it to Gai, who quirked up one of his larger-than-life brows and then took it, putting a hand on his chin as he read it. When he finished he looked at Naruto and 'hmm'd'.

"Is this statement about the boy, accurate?" Gai asked.

Hayate turned to Naruto and asked, "Naruto, May I?"

Naruto looked at his sensei before turning to Gai. "First, a question; Gai-san, with a promise of no punishment whatsoever by the Hokage; how do you feel about me?"

Gai was surprised, however his surprise turned into understanding. "I feel… you are a human boy with a magnificent Flame of Youth, burning inside you. You are nothing of the Kyuubi, no matter what gossip comes around these days. Does that settle your worries?"

Naruto nodded and then turned to Hayate and nodded again.

Hayate then leaned forward and whispered in Gai's ear. Gai's reaction was comical, to say the least as his eyebrows seemed to have disappeared in his hair and his jaw slackened.

"WHAT!!!"

His outburst caught the attention of his students, who stopped their activates, and joined behind their sensei. Two were genuinely curious what the outburst was about while the other was disinterested and looked bored.

Gai immediately calmed down; however, he still looked upon Naruto with surprise and something akin to awe.

"Well, that's surprising." He stated before turning back to Hayate. "I'll allow this under the condition that I'll be there for their sparring matches and that another student of mine be with them on missions." He turned to Naruto and gave him thumbs up, "Don't worry, Naruto-kun, Lee's Flames of Youth shines almost as brightly as yours, so you don't need to worry about him!"

Rock Lee, the boy mentioned and Gai's almost mini-clone, tear'd and held up a thumbs up of his own at his sensei; pride shining on his face.

"Tenten!" Gai barked.

The girl with the two buns on her head came forward, sighing, wondering what her sensei wanted of her. All she wanted was to go back into training and be at peace. As she came up, she looked over the visitors that came. One was a sickly looking man with large, dark circles, under his eyes; another was a woman while pretty and smiling, had an air about her that said, "Make me mad, I slit your throat". Lastly, was the boy around her age whose blonde hair, bright orange jumpsuit, and whisker-like marks on his cheeks struck a chord in her memory that she could not seem to recall. Soon she was next to her sensei, whom she looked up expectantly.

Gai placed his hand on her shoulder, smirked at her and then looked to the three opposite of them.

"Tenten, from now on, you're going to be sparring with young Naruto here and, when time permits, will partake missions with him and Lee."

Tenten looked at Naruto who smiled sheepishly and waived at her and then back to her sensei with a look of incredulous.

"what's the punch-line, Sensei? Cause, I don't get it."

Gai's smirk turned into a frown.

"This is no joke, Tenten. It's also an order from the Hokage, himself."

Hayate sighed as he came forward, "Shinomori-san, he's telling the truth. I know Naruto doesn't look like much but as you should know, deception is a ninja's greatest ally."

Tenten then looked back at Naruto who, at this time, looked in a different direction and his eyes seemed to have clouded over, causing Tenten to do a double take. Something wasn't right, here. Right now, she could tell the boy was hiding something. She still was not interested in the sparring nor partnered up with the boy to pick up the pace wherever he should falter; she was only curious and that was it.

"Whatever." She said. "I'll do it, if it's an order from the Hokage."

"Good," Yugao said, speaking for the first time. "Tomorrow, if you have no prior arrangements with your team; you'll start off a sparring with Naruto first thing in the morning. We'll send both you, your sensei, and Lee-kun over there information on where to come. Lee shall be present as he'll be a member of this unit. Do you two understand?" She asked Tenten and Lee. She could see Tenten's dismissal of Naruto when they had first arrived and it irked her for some reason. Yugao was going to take pride in the fact that when Naruto first shows this prideful little Kunoichi his hand, she'll lose most of her confidence.

Both Tenten and Lee nodded.

With all said and done the parties went their separate ways. Tomorrow would bring surprise to everyone, for sure.

To be continued….

A/N: "Hakai no kaze haro" roughly translated means "Destructive waves of wind". It'll show up in the next chapter as half of the chapter is Naruto and Tenten's sparring match. I still have yet to decide if I am going to do a pairing in this fic. I've already made a Naruten story ("A Change in Development") and have yet to make one in my other stories ("Naruto of the village hidden in the grass" and "House of Paper: A Mother and son's Journey"). I'm in no hurry to create one here, but I'm willing to hear all considerations, though I make no promises.

Q-n-P


	4. The Champion vs The Weapons Mistress

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

from Michael Stivers aka Quick-n-Popular

* * *

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Four: Avalon's Champion vs. The Weapons Mistress of Konoha

The message had come sooner than she had expected, that didn't surprise her. What did was where they were supposed to meet. Never in Tenten's wildest imaginations did she ever think that a designated place would ever take place outside of the village.

The historical landmark known as the Valley of the End, the place where the Shodaime and Madara Uchiha squared off against each other for the title of ruler of the village, was a remarkable sight. Two massive figures of the two men stood in between a waterfall that cascaded down five stories below into a river, which spanned out into a lake. It was at the lake's shore where Tenten, accompanied by Gai and Lee; waited for the arrival of Naruto and his two senseis. Tenten's demeanor from yesterday ahdn't changed much. She still felt this was a waste of her time to where she could be training as opposed to gauging another boy's skills for his sensei, or senseis, in this case. Curiosity was the only thing holding her back from flat out refusing yesterday. Why was she, of all people, ordered by the Hokage to spar against this boy? She remembered Naruto, vaguely, from when she had attended the Academy with Lee and Neji. She remembered him to be both clumsy and awkward. The teachers and the other students either scolded or ridiculed constantly, Neji included. However, Tenten remained indifferent as she was more concerned on proving how capable she was rather than take interest in a boy who had the hardest time throwing a kunai. She admits that it was unfair for her to act that way but that's how things were. From the gossip grapevine, she heard more things about the boy that had her eyebrows lifted more than once. Many of the civilians of the village held the boy with some sort of contempt, none of them willing to reveal more on their dislike of the orphaned boy. Again, it wasn't her problem. With all this, why was he sparring against her? He was a dead last in his class, a constant troublemaker, and seemed to dress to be killed on the spot. Was this all a joke? Gai-sensei didn't think so, instead he told her that, in the end; this sparring match will have taught both of them a lesson. So here she was, getting more annoyed as the minutes flew by and with Gai and Lee making declarations of 'youth' while she sat on a rock twirling her kunai. Her attention was diverted by the sudden splash behind her on the lake and she turned her head to see that the others had arrived. She was surprised to see, though, that all three of them were standing on top of the water, Naruto included!

"Sorry we're late, my appointment went longer than I thought it would." Hayate said, before erupting into a coughing fit.

He was another mystery to her. Why would someone who's so sick would be an active duty Shinobi was beyond her.

"Nothing to fret, my youthful comrades!" Gai said, in the midst of doing a handstand one armed push-ups. He then did a mid-air flip and landed on his feet, then giving a blinding smile with a thumbs up. "Shall we get started, then?"

Yugao looked to Naruto, "Are you ready, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded, "Hai." He then got into the middle of the clearing, away from the lake. He looked back at it, turned and bowed, before turning back to Tenten who got herself into a stance and was looking at him oddly.

"Why were you bowing to the lake?" She asked.

Naruto closed his eyes, "Something personal." He opened his eyes and looked at her with an intensity that she had never seen before on the boy. "Remember, nothing leaves here about myself, am I clear?" He asked aloud.

Gai and Lee nodded while Tenten looked at him oddly still. His eyes bore into her as he asked again.

"Am-I-clear?"

Tenten sighed as she nodded and then got back into her stance.

Naruto nodded and then made a hand sign and soon his appearance changed dramatically.

Tenten's eyes widened as she watched Naruto change. He became taller, the orange jumpsuit was gone and replaced with a white-tunic shirt over a wire-mesh one, both were covered by a green leather jacket with a hoodie. Naruto's hands were covered in fingerless gloves with steel plates on the back of them. He wore black cargo pants, strapped on the left leg weaving down were countless senbon and other small throwing weapons. The right leg held three rows of kunais and at his waist were two kukiris in perfect condition. But what caught her eye was the sword on Naruto's back, the hand guard was uniquely curved and the handle wrapped in brown leather matching the strap that went diagonally across Naruto, and held a sapphire in the center at the end. It looked beautiful and Tenten was curious how the boy came into possession of such a remarkable weapon. To add more to her surprise, she noticed the 'whiskers' were absent from his face, which was now slender and more defined. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead and when he opened his eyes his whole image screamed seasoned shinobi.

Tenten wasn't sure if all of this was an elaborate henge or Genjutsu as the change was too dramatic to be plausible in her eyes. She decided to make the first strike to test Naruto. Pulling out two sais, Tenten twirled them in her hands as she sprinted forward at a fast pace. Naruto removed his kukiris and mimicked her as he too went in. It wasn't long when they met and Tenten immediately shouted "Kai", while forming the sign with chakra focused into it; to dispel any Genjutus. There wasn't any. She decided that, as far as she could tell, this is what Naruto truly looked like and quite possibly all of his arsenal was real as well. This left her confused but she decided to push all of her thoughts or questions from her mind and focus on the match. She assaulted Naruto with a flurry of attacks, which, to her surprise; he batted away. Going into a backwards flip, with her hands planted on the ground, the end of her foot made connection with Naruto's chin, causing him to stagger back. However, he was quick to recover, soon rushed forward with a leg sweep, and thus had Tenten fall backwards. Catching herself on one of her hands, she used the other to throw her sai at Naruto while springing back up and rushing to intercept him. Naruto was quick to avoid the sai, ducking underneath it as it flew past him, and stopped on one foot. He then brought his body forward and propped himself on that foot and began rotating his body at a fantastic speed with his kukiris extended out. Tenten had to stop herself, skidding in the process, and brought her remaining sai up to deflect the blows from Naruto's kukiris. However, his momentum caused her to be pushed back even more, showing that he had dominance over her in strength. He stopped suddenly and then brought both of his kukiris into the ground as he then went onto one knee and began pulling out his senbon and throwing knives. He began throwing them at rapid sessions towards Tenten, who immediately took cover before bringing out a scroll from her side and then bit her thumb. Wiping her blood on the scroll, she jumped up high into the air as the scroll came to life in the form of hundreds to nearly thousands of both throwing weapons and hand held weapons. Below her, she could see Naruto had stopped his onslaught of throwing weapons and seemed to regard her for a moment in the air. Tenten then unleashed her horde of weaponry at Naruto, a large smirk on her face.

_"If Naruto had Neji's Kaiten, he'd be able to deflect this. Since he doesn't, this fight is all over." _She thought confidently to herself.

Naruto, on the other hand, smirked.

_"Now would be a good time to use THAT jutsu."_ A grin surfaced on his face.

As if reading his student's thoughts, Hayate's eyes went wide and he began shouting.

"Naruto, Don't! If you use too much chakra, it'll kill her!"

Gai, who was watching besides Lee, raised an eyebrow at what Hayate had said. However, he had faith in his student's abilities and his curiosity prevented him from warning her of something.

Naruto turned on one foot making a circle in the ground around him before making numerous hand signs just as Tenten's weapons were coming at him. He stopped at the last one just as the few dozen of her weapons were nearly within five feet of his location and he yelled, "Hakai no kaze haro!"

In the circle that Naruto had made, a violent updraft of wind came hurtling out and seemed to span outwards towards Tenten's weapons and herself. The weapons were caught and were flung off in multiple locations. Tenten, who had held onto the weapons by invisible string attached to her chakra; struggled with her arms as they began to flail about because of her weapons being ensnared in the violent gusts. The attack was rapidly approaching her and she decided it was better to cut and run, so she ended her jutsu and dove downwards to the ground. Her attempt was only partially successful as her legs had got caught in the torrent and her body was immediately flung backwards. She felt herself being in a blinding and stinging cycle of never-ending cuts that ripped away parts of her clothing and damaged much of the skin on her legs, arms, and face. It all stopped when she collided with a low hanging branch, which promptly knocked the wind out of her.

Naruto had stopped his jutsu and slowly approached Tenten as she was struggling to prop herself up on the branch. He twirled his kukiris as he came closer, watching her for any movement that would require him to take immediate action. He could see that the "Hakai no kaze haro" had definitely done its damage on her. However it would have been more devastating had he applied the chakra amount required to successfully execute that jutsu. Naruto himself wasn't complete unscathed, as Tenten had cut and bruised him several times when they had met head on in the beginning and his lip was bleeding from when she had connected her foot to his head. Naruto came to a stoop a yard away from Tenten's location as she had finally had gotten both of her feet on top of the tree limb. She was breathing hard and had a cut above her eye that was seeping blood, which was forcing her to keep that eye closed.

"What…the hell…was that?" She asked amidst her intake of air, looking at Naruto with a mixture of awe and loathing.

Naruto smirked at her as he got into position and soon took off towards her. He applied chakra to his feet and legs as he bounded off the trees to reach where she was and then slashed at her with both blades. Tenten acted fast and had her ornamental staff out blocking his blades and grunting as she tried to apply more strength to her arms to hold off Naruto's blades from brushing off her staff. Using her crouched position to its advantage, she pushed harder as she sprung forward causing her to fall with Naruto to the ground below. In mid air, while the upper portion of their bodies battled for supremacy in pushing the other's weapon(s) away, the lower part tried to add to it with knee drives and kicks. When they finally came to rest on the ground, which resounded with a loud crash; Tenten had landed hard against Naruto and both of them lost their weapons in the impact.

In the few seconds that went on, Tenten immediately brought forth a kunai that she had hidden in her sleeve and brought it to Naruto's neck just as he tilted his wrist back and extended his hand to her neck where a senbon needle was sticking out of a mechanical wrist devise, which would either launch or extend the already long needle forward. Both had their pointed objects close to the others jugular vein and they starred each other down as they both gasped for heaps amount of air.

"Do you yield?" He asked, panting.

"Do you?" She asked in turn, however, her grip was shaking unsteadily.

"That's enough. It's a draw, you too." Hayate said as both he, Yugao, Gai, and Lee came forward to the two who were still looking at each other cautiously as they slowly lowered their weapons away from their opponent's neck. Tenten then felt a twinge of embarrassment, as it came to her mind that the way she was positioned on top of Naruto might suggest to someone who had not seen the fight as if she were straddling him. Turning a little red in the cheeks, she huffed as she put the idea out of her mind as she then got onto her legs and limped away from Naruto as he too got up.

Naruto retracted the senbon back into his devise underneath his sleeve as he turned to the adults and Lee.

"So, how did we do?"

Gai watched Tenten lean next to a tree away, her back turned to them. He smiled inwardly as he wanted for this to happen as both she and Neji were having superiority complex going and this was exactly the thing she needed to lower herself back to earth and to be honest about her skills and abilities. Gai soon turned back to Naruto, folding his arms.

"Well, for one thing you need to either create a stable taijutsu for yourself or to find one that suits you as the, whatever it was you were using; I wouldn't dare call it a Taijutsu."

Naruto nodded having already explained prior that he had NO Taijutsu for himself to begin with, except the academy's which he felt didn't feel right with his body.

Gai turned to Tenten and asked, "Tenten, would you like to add anything?"

Tenten didn't answer but merely shook her head slowly.

Naruto sighed as he walked up to her, while drawing his sword for the first time since they have came to the Valley of the End.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Yugao asked. Since the fight was over, there was no reason for him to draw his weapon.

Tenten, after hearing Yugao call after Naruto, turned her head and then soon her whole body as she saw Naruto approaching her with that sword of his. She then took a step back as she thought he meant to continue on their fight.

Naruto smirked, "Relax, you're hurt, right?"

Tenten nodded.

Naruto nodded as well before he turned the sword and held the blade in his hands while the other held the hilt. "Now, I want you to kneel and remain perfectly still, alright? If you move, this won't work."

Tenten raised an eyebrow at what he was saying. Curious as to where this was going, she obeyed, her eyes never leaving Naruto's which seemed to take on a light glow, for some reason. Tenten watched as he held the weapon over her head as he then closed his eyes and then said:

"Excalibur no jutsu, Iyasu."

Tenten was suddenly enveloped in green light and she soon felt all of her sore muscles relax and return to their strength; her cuts disappear as if they never were there, and all her bruises, abrasions, even the cut above her eye; disappeared and were healed in mere seconds. Tenten stared at both Naruto and the weapon he possessed in complete shock. For one, the fact that he was healing her and second for the ability this sword had. To add more to her amazement, she saw that Naruto's own wounds were healing along with hers.

When it was all over, Naruto resheathed Excalibur and gave his hand to Tenten, who was still starring at him in complete wonder.

Taking his hand and bringing herself back up to her feet she sighed as she then put her hands against her hips as she frowned a little.

"Why didn't you use that sword in our spar? Is it your trump card?"

Naruto crossed his arms as he closed his eyes and looked to be contemplating something.

"I could have." He said, "But, the techniques and jutsus, with the exception of the one I used on us, are not suited for an evaluation spar."

Tenten sighed, "I do know Kenjutsu, you know."

"But you're not an expert on the subject." Yugao said as her focus then settled on Naruto. "Naruto, I do understand your reasons with safeguarding the fact you possess that sword of yours, but you really should have used it in your spar as we need to know all of your abilities, not just some if we are to train you properly."

"I thought Hayate-sensei was going to spar against me. I was saving it for then." Naruto explained.

Hayate shook his head. "Not today, Naruto. However, seeing how you utilize your other weapons, I can have, at least, a safe guess as to what your proficiency with your sword. We WILL be having a spar, I assure you, but in the meantime, I would like to give you an evaluation on your performance. While being proficient, you've let too many openings to your opponent and seemed to play more on power over strategy, which could cost you on a mission, when faced with an unknown enemy. Your skills are right on the mark and you seem to grasp what you can do with your arsenal, but you also seem to disregard how much of it you use and that too will cost you."

Naruto nodded, he didn't protest as he had similar thoughts while looking back on the match.

"You also gave her time to recover," Yugao added, "Which is something no Shinobi can afford when facing an enemy. The objective is always the same "strike the enemy down and leave no room for them to attack you with full force"."

Gai nodded and then looked at Tenten, "Tenten, what they said I would apply to you, as well. You're too over-confident in your abilities and, until today, you had yet to face someone who was either equal or more in strength and skill. This will be your downfall as you will face equally impressive enemies, if not more so, like Naruto here."

Tenten sighed as she nodded and then bowed to her sensei.

"I will remember, Gai-sensei, arigatou."

Gai nodded and then turned to Naruto.

"Yugao-san has said directly what I thought, so I shall add no more critique other than that it may be best for you to study all the Taijutsu style that the Konoha library has to offer as I could not identify one that would suit you best."

Naruto felt a little disheartened by his decision, but on the other hand it would enable him to do something original and perhaps might give him an edge over his enemies After all, what they don't know WILL hurt them.

Tenten walked forward, still eyeing the boy who left an impression on her. She usually was not one to admit defeat nor concede that her evaluations were wrong or mislead. However, she would make a huge change in this matter. She brought her hand forward to Naruto, who looked at her curiously.

"It was a good spar, Naruto. I'll admit, I was wrong in my assumption of you, and I'm never been happier. It'll be a pleaure to work with you in the future on missions and in future trainings."

Naruto smiled, genuinely, as he received her hand and shook it.

Lee, who had been unusually quiet during the entire time, thre both of his arms in the air, exclaiming, "Yosh! With Naruto, our flames shall burn brightly and our enemies shall wither and fall!"

Naruto and Tenten, whose hands were still clasped, both sweat-dropped at Lee's exclamation and then both chuckled nervously.

* * *

At the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi was interviewing with a client who was requesting a cell to come guard him while completing a bridge.

The man, a graying , slightly overweight, be-speckled, person, with calloused hands; grunted with a breath that reeked of sake.

"So, this team you'll send with me, they're experienced, right?"

Sarutobi gave him a nod, trying hard not to show any signs of being overwhelmed by the alcoholic smell the man breathed out, nodded.

"They'll be the best, I assure you, Tazuna-san."

To be continued….

A/N: I assume a lot of you are furious that I have yet to show Naruto using Excalibur in a fight. Sorry, but I'm reserving it for the next chapter as I feel it will be utilized better then as its use will be shown twice. Another apology I have to make is Tenten's character as I'm sure several of you felt she was slightly over arrogant and perhaps ooc. I was struggling with the conception of her being slightly like Neji in terms of behavior and first appearances. I liked the idea of Gai wanting to humble her, as well as Neji, which seemed to be the case in the cannon after Naruto's match with Neji. Hopefully, all will be forgiven. I'm still working with how I'll write Lee's character, so please bare with me.

A/N II: Thanks to all who've reviewed and either put this story on their alert or Favorite list, it means a lot to me that you're giving this story a chance and have taken a liking to it while doing so. Thanks.

A/N III: As far as pairings as concerned, this is where I'm at in decision, or indecision, rather:

Naruto x Tenten

Naruto x Fem Haku

Naruto x Tayuya

So, as of right now, its been narrowed down to three and I'm still not sure whether or not I want the Naruten relationship to be strictly platonic or if them being a romantic couple will play better. Whichever girl goes with him, though, has to play well with the story I'm writing, for that reason, I've decided against Sakura, Ino, and Hinata as they wouldn't fit in with the Naruto I'm creating.

A/N: IV: the next chapter will be up soon, after that though, it may be awhile before I update again as I have many stories that I've neglected to update and an idea of mine that I wish to get out there. Hopefully I'll be able to post the next two chapters after the next one within a week or two, but no promises.

Q-n-P


	5. A CClass Mission to Remember, Part One

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Five: A C-Class Mission to Remember, Part One

The next day turned out to be an odd one, at least in Naruto's eyes. From what he had heard, word of mouth, from most of the experienced Shinobi of the village; was that Genin usually started off their careers by doing almost a hundred of mundane D-class missions, which were in themselves, chores to boost teamwork. Never to receive anything higher until both the Sensei of the team and the Hokage deem them worthy of tasking something higher. So, standing in the Hokage's office with both of his Senseis, Naruto was shocked to hear that the Hokage had already assigned him a mission outside of the village, a c-class one, at that. Naruto wasn't the only one surprised by this development as his reaction mirrored that of Iruka who was assisting the Hokage in handing out missions while class was out of session for the summer.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but isn't it a little early for Naruto to be taking on a mission of this level? He hasn't done any of the required D missions that all Genin are required to take; not only that, he doesn't have two teammates to help him in this mission." Iruka stated.

The Hokage held up his hand, "While I appreciate your concern for your former student, Iruka-san, he's far exceeded the expectations set for those who need to take the D class missions. Thus, he'll be taking on this mission, which I assure is nothing more than a mere escort mission." The Hokage then turned to Hayate and Yugao, "Will Gai's students be available for this mission?"

Hayate nodded in the affirmative, which the Hokage nodded in turn before looking past the group calling to his secretary outside.

"Please send him in, now."

The door opened to reveal a grizzly old man with glasses who held in his hand a bottle of sake, a bit of the liquid dribbling off his bottom lip and chin.

His reddened, inebriated, eyes squinted as he looked upon the group in the Hokage's office.

"This is it? Man, money does not get you far, now does it. I ask for 'seasoned Shinobi' and you give me a guy who looks like he's about to kick it any second, a woman who looks like she belongs running an onsen, and a runt with a bizarre fashion sense."

However, the "runt" disappeared from his view and was soon in front of him with a kunai aimed at the man's family jewels.

"This, 'runt', is going to be protecting you. Don't be so quick to judge just because of how I dress or my height, you old drunk." Naruto sneered before putting away his kunai and turning to face his senseis.

"I'll be waiting at the gate, senseis." He bowed before exiting the room, leaving a wide-eyed Tazuna gripping his parts in defense and looking uneasy.

Yugao smirked before looking at the man, putting her hand on his shoulder as she passed by and whispering in his ear.

"Take heed of what he said." She then lightly patted his shoulder before exiting the same way Naruto did.

Hayate sighed as he took the assignment scroll from the Hokage and then went to talk to Tazuna to gather more information.

* * *

Naruto was waiting by the gate when Yugao arrived with Tenten and Lee. Tenten, he could tell looked bored, which probably meant she had been briefed by Yugao about the mission and wasn't all that eager about it. Lee, on the other hand, seemed both serious and determined. When they joined him, Tenten looked Naruto up and down with a frown on her face.

"Why are you looking like that? It doesn't suit you."

Naruto looked at her for a moment and was about to tell her it was none of her business but before he could, she crossed her arms and interrupted him.

"Look, if we're going to be teammates, I want you to be honest with me and not hold anything back that may jeopardize either this mission or another in the future. Lee and I are going to be depending on you, so please don't put us at arm's length like most of the prodigies in our class do."

Naruto winced at the remark she made. Comparing him to Sasuke and Neji was a low blow but he could understand her worry. However, the reason, or secret, was something big and personal. He had a major issue with trusting people; those his own age were no exception. However, Tenten was right, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it.

Naruto looked to Yugao and sighed, "Yugao-ne, if you would, please."

Yugao nodded and soon went through some hand signs and performed a sound-proof jutsu along with a high Genjutsu to both distort what was being heard and seen, a barrier was erected that encompassed them. When she was finished, Naruto turned his back on his fellow teammates.

"What you're about to hear is an S-class secret, punishable by death should you reveal it without the consent of myself or the Hokage, understood?" Though he couldn't see their response, he knew they had nodded. He then turned back to them, his face a look of absolute seriousness.

"What do you to know about what happened with the Kyuubi attack that happened thirteen years ago?"

"Yosh! The Yondaime had defeated it and saved the village!" Lee exclaimed.

Tenten nodded with Lee's short, albeit, loud summarization of what happened.

Naruto nodded, "That's what you we were taught, yes. However, that is a half-truth."

Tenten cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Naruto sighed, "The Yondaime could not "kill" the Kyuubi, a being of immense demonic chakra, with ninja skills; no matter how powerful and talented as he was. He was left with only one alternative, one he had made himself. If he could not kill it, he could only do something that would end its rampage and save the village. He would have to trap it, or seal it, rather, into an object. Now solid matter would never be able to hold a being of this size or its destructive power. So, in other words, he would have to put it in something that would be stable enough to hold it within." Naruto closed his eyes before opening them and taking on a subdued expression. "He would have to seal it inside a human being."

Tenten's eyes widened and Lee gasped.

Naruto nodded at their shocked expressions. "Yes, he would have to imprison it inside a living person. However, as far as chakra coils go, a living adult's are too developed and thus would tear in response the demonic chakra mixing in with their own. So…" Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes once more. "A new born baby would have to be the container."

Both Tenten and Lee became quiet, however the wideness of their eyes and the soundless words mouthed by their faces could be seen. Tenten was the first to recover.

"So…So you…"

Naruto nodded and then smiled, sadly.

"The Yondaime chose me, an orphan whose parents had died during the Kyuubi attack to seal the Kyuubi inside and thus saving the village. That is, until six years ago when something extraordinary happened and the Kyuubi was expunged from my body, leaving only its chakra behind, which was converted into my own."

Lee looked confused. "If that's true, Naruto-san, then why are you still looked on with un-youthful hate from the citizens?"

Tenten however seemed to guess quicker than Lee had.

"They don't know, do they?"

Naruto nodded, "Even if they did, most of them wouldn't believe it. They've clung onto the belief that I'm the reincarnation that had brought them so much unhappiness and sorrow, that if they were told otherwise, they'd most likely disregard it. The council is very much the same, or at least, a large portion of it. So, I've kept up the pretense that I'm the "demon-brat" so no one will have the baseless assumption that I'm being controlled by the Kyuubi, which is where their thoughts will lead, should they learn my secret."

"A lot of the Shinobi population is of the same mind," Yugao added, "If any of them were under the impression that Naruto was being influenced or controlled by the Kyuubi, they wouldn't hesitate to try and kill Naruto, despite the Hokage's law forbidding anyone from harming Naruto-kun."

"How un-youthful!" Lee shouted, frowning.

"No matter how hard you try, some people are unwilling to change, and I'm not going to force them to." Naruto said.

Tenten looked at Naruto with a mixture of sadness and awe. She was saddened to hear all that he was going through and all either to protect himself or to preserve the, unfortunate, coping mechanisms the citizens used to get over what happened thirteen years ago. But, why? That was one thing Tenten didn't understand. Why should he have to do it, why should he allow them to continually be abusive or dismissive towards him in the many ways they did? It was borderline masochism but all in selflessness. In the end, what was he to gain? She remembered him declaring loudly that he wanted to become Hokage, but was there any truth to that or was it part of the act to continually prove the citizens of Konoha right in their mindsets?

"What do you hope to accomplish by continuing this lie about yourself?" Tenten asked.

Naruto sighed, "By becoming the best Shinobi I can be and that my accomplishments circumvent their attitudes toward me. It may take me my entire life or it may be shorter than that, whatever it may be; I'm going to be patient. They have a right to hate the Kyuubi for what it did to them and I will not deny them that right."

Yugao, sensing that Hayate and Tazuna were approaching, decided it would be best to wrap things up.

"We need to end this, you guys. Tenten, Lee, I don't think I need to remind the two of you that everything you heard is both confidential and an S-class secret. I hope that my faith in the two of you isn't misjudged and you're going to be telling everybody about Naruto's secret."

Lee and Tenten shook their heads.

Yugao nodded as she then dispelled the jutsu just as Hayate and Tazuna were coming up to them.

"Everybody ready?" Hayate asked.

Everyone nodded.

Hayate nodded and soon the six of them were gearing up and were heading to the gates of the village; two of the six having a lot to think about on the way.

Three hours into the trip, Naruto noticed that their client seemed apprehensive to the point of almost breaking into a sweat as his eyes darted back and forth into the clearings opposite from the road they traveled. From what Hayate-sensei had said about this mission, there was potential for bandits to be attacking the bridge builder, since this particular road was infamous for bandits to loot from travelers. So, on that note, it was understanding where his nervousness was coming from; however, Naruto suspected wasn't that simple. Having to be deceitful for so many years, he could see the signs in Tazuna, but he didn't have all the facts to prove his suspicions.

A puddle on the side of the road, took his mind off Tazuna's odd behavior. He looked at it suspiciously, as the weather for the past week had been a dry one and very rarely do traveling merchants come onto the road they were on; so the possibility it was something left behind was highly unlikely. Sensing out, Naruto picked up two high chakra signatures coming from the mysterious puddle, he then immediately signaled his senseis, via hand signs; explaining the situation at hand. They, in turn, signaled back to him, telling him to go as if everything was normal. As soon as they were a yard away from the "puddle", what happened next was instantaneous.

Two ninjas, joined by the wrists by a long chain with hooked, barbed, blades on it; jumped on high out of the puddle and then in a swift movement, wrapped around Hayate and then pulled on their wrists in the opposite direction leading to a grotesque seen where Hayate was ripped to shreds.

"One down" One of the Shinobi said, maliciously through his breathing apparatus.

"Four to go." Added the mirrored partner.

Naruto sprung forth and guarded their client, creating three Kage Bushins to cover all sides each one taking out their kukiris and holding their guard. Lee jumped over the two men and then grabbed the bladed chain in his hands, causing them to tear a bleed a little. Using a surprising strength, he pulled the chain backwards, causing the two ninjas to collide into each other. Tenten and Yugao sprung into action and both took out blades and severed the chains that connected the two before both of them went on one-on-one with the two. Yugao successfully defeated the man she was against and then watched idly by as Tenten, Lee, and then Naruto, who had made an additional Kage Bushin to cover Tazuna; took turns in bringing the enemy down. Each of them covered each other and played a sort of "tag-in-tag-out" strategy. When one ally was about to be caught off guard, another would come and take their place while the other stepped out and recovered. Yugao was impressed, she instantly thought that it was probably Gai who introduced this to his students, but what impressed her more was that Naruto had caught on to it without being told. The three then went into a triangular formation around their opponent, with Naruto facing the enemy. Rather than go all at once, Naruto came in and feigned a swipe at the man's midsection, causing him to jump back. Lee came at the side, catching the man's vision to be averted as he saw both Lee and Naruto coming at him. However, not paying attention cost him dearly as she came upon him wielding two tonfas and gave the man a blow to the head. The result was the man was disconsorted, which then prompted Naruto and Lee attacking in unison with Naruto delivering a painful jab to the man's gut while Lee did a mid-air roundhouse kick. The ninja flew a few feet into the air before coming back down with a resounding crash. He did not get up and lay sprawled.

A coughing sound amidst the silenece caught the groups' attention to Hayate, who was approaching from where he was hidden; the place where he "died" showed a butchered log.

"Well done, you three." He said, smiling. His smile turned into a frown as he looked at the two ninjas being tied to a tree by Tenten. Their Hitai-ates showing scratch marks through the emblem of their village of Kirigakure, the village hidden in the mist, marking them as Nuke-Nins, deserters of their village.

"So, what has two, most likely Chuunin-level, Nuke-nins coming after the likes of us?" His question seemed to have been intended for the whole group.

Naruto looked to their client and saw he had become more agitated and seemed to be sweating more profusely. His eyes looking away from everyone else.

Naruto sighed, "Tazuna-san, what have you done to have someone send nuke-nins after you?"

Tazuna looked at Naruto, still surprised by the change he bare witness to, to his appearance; he gulped loudly as he tried his best "poker-face".

"I-I don't know what you mean." He stumbled.

Yugao frowned. "This road is known only for bandit-attacks. Your behavior on this journey is questionable, so, it is easy to see why Naruto-kun suspects you of something."

Tazuna looked eagerly to the others to see if anyone of them had the slightest of doubt that he was holding something back, unfortunately, he found none. He sighed and removed his straw hat and wiped the residual sweat from his brow.

"Alright, I'll tell ya." He then went on to explain about is current job where he was building a bridge that would connect the poor town of Nami no Kuni, the land of waves. However, doing such would come into conflict with the man who had set up shop in Nami a few years back. This man has monopolization over the trading industry in Nami and if the bridge were completed, it would bring in outside trade and thus ruin the hold he has over the village. The man's name is Gato, who is notorious through the trading world as being both successful and ruthless in his endeavors.

"This is our home's only chance to loosen the grasp that tyrant has over us." He finished.

"Yes, but you lied to us, more importantly you lied to the Hokage when you requested this mission. If he had known that there would be missing ninjas after you; he would have assigned this mission a higher ranking and brought in more to get it done." Yugao stated.

"But we can't afford a higher ranking! It took our entire village to scrap together just for this classification! Look, I'm sorry that I lied but we need your help. If we don't get this bridge built, our village will slowly perish the more Gato squeezes the rest of the life from us." Tazuna pleaded.

Yugao sighed and then looked at Hayate. "What do you think, Hayate-kun? There are sure to be other ninjas like these who'll be after us, if not of higher ranking; once they learn of their defeat. Our duty is to head back and ask the Hokage to assign some others to do this."

Hayate, who had taken everything in, looked to the expectant Genin who had been quiet during Tazuna's explanation. He knew he should report back in and have the case elevated to the status it was, however seeing both Naruto and the others performance during the attack, he was compelled to go a different route.

"Well, you three, what are your thoughts. Yugao-chan's right in this being way out of our league, but I'm interested in your thoughts. Tenten, Lee, the two of you have more experience than Naruto but are still Genin. What are your thoughts?"

"We are ninja of the Leaf; it is our job to help those who can't help themselves from those that hurt them!" Lee said, putting his fist in the air for emphasis.

Tenten sighed, "But Lee, it's also our 'job' to do what we are trained and qualified for. This mission has been under classed and by directive we should head back to the village." She then turned to Tazuna, "However, we've already gotten into this mission too far and it may turn sour for Tazuna-san, here should the Hokage dismiss this mission because he lied about the dangers of it. You're right Lee both him and his village need our help. So, I'm in."

Tazuna looked to Naruto who was looking out to the road ahead. He didn't turn to face Tazuna when he spoke.

"Tazuna-san, we're going to continue the mission. I hope there are no more secrets as our lives are on the line and we're trusting you as much as you're trusting us."

Tenten smiled at hearing Naruto used what she had said to him and take it to heart to where he gave the same warning to their client.

Tazuna sighed, "You have my word that there's nothing else. Again, I'm sorry for the trouble I'm causing the five of you."

Hayate nodded, "Very well, I'll send a message to the Hokage about the particulars. Tazuna, you will have to submit a letter of both explanation and apology to the Hokage for lying about the mission. You're going to also be paying the amount this mission should have been labeled."

Tazuna nodded and gave out a sigh of relief, scratching the back of his head, tiredly.

"Alright, that's fair."

Hayate nodded and then looked to Yugao who opened a scroll and then wiped it with her blood resulting in the scroll being enveloped in a cloud of smoke and a hawk appearing in the center of it.

The hawk screeched as it eyed its new surroundings as Yugao wrote on a small piece of paper before rolling it up and putting it in the little leg tube attached to the hawk's leg. As soon as she was finished, the Hawk took off towards Konoha and the five then gathered their things and continued on their way to Nami no Kuni.

The group became more guarded as they continued to travel. Due to the recent information and the attack, no one was as carefree as they had been before. Talking was at a low minimum and breaks were becoming scarce. Their client put up with it with no complaints as he felt he was on tentative terms already with his ninja escorts. Their travels took them to a large stretch of water where Tazuna claimed a boat was waiting there to take them the rest of the way to Nami. Once the boat was sighted, a fog came rolling in along with an eerie atmosphere that suddenly put the Konoha nins on edge.

"You three protect Tazuna!" Yugao commanded.

In the midst of getting into formation, a rustling in the bushes caused Tenten to throw one of her kunai in the direction of the sound resulting with a rabbit fleeing out of fear.

"That was un-youthful, Tenten." Lee sighed, watching the rabbit scamper out of sight.

Hayate, however, had seen the rabbit's fur which was white and because of the region the rabbit was not native to this area. Which could only mean-

"Everybody! Heads down!" He yelled as a large spinning object flew over where their heads would have been before it collided with a tree, revealing the object to be a large zanbatou looking more like a large knife than a sword. On its hilt a man stood with his back turned to them, eyeing them from the corner of his eye.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? A bunch of leaf nins and their brats. Give the bridge builder to me and you can all go on your way."

"That's Zabuza Momichii." Yugao said as she drew out her katanna, Hayate nodded and did likewise, his eyes still on Zabuza. "What's a missing-nin, such as yourself, want with him? Doing Gato's dirty work?"

Zabuza scoffed, "If it weren't for the runt's money, I wouldn't even bother." He then did a back flip off of the blade while grabbing it and pulling it out of the tree and held it on his shoulders as he looked at the group. "I'll ask you one last time, abandon the old geezer and you'll leave with your lives and limbs."

Hayate looked back to Naruto and the other two who were guarding a visibly shaking Tazuna.

"Guard the client with your life, we'll handle Zabuza. Got it?"

The three nodded and at that same time, Zabuza brought his hands into formation.

"Kirigakure no jutsu." He said as the misty fog around them seemed to become denser and soon, the three could no longer see the enemy nor their senseis. However, sword clashes soon could be heard along with grunting, both masculine and feminine. As the minutes wore on, the nerves of the three Genin were being put at their most, their eyes glued ahead where the battle was taking place.

"Now die!" Roared a voice from behind them.

The three turned to see Zabuza coming forward, lunging with his gigantic sword on top of the quivering Tazuna.

A resounding clashing sound came next as Naruto appeared behind Tazuna, his sword, Excalibur, out and holding Zabuza's bade from coming closer to its victim. Naruto strained under the immense strength Zabuza possessed. His muscles were screaming in agony over the strain they were in against the force Zabuza was exhibiting.

"P-Protect T-Tazuna, I got this!" Naruto grunted/said as he pushed all of his weight forward and tripped a little as Zabuza retreated a step. Naruto then called forth three Kage Bushins, one replaced his spot in the formation around Tazuna , the others joined him in battle against Zabuza.

Zabuza, smirking, eyed the boy curiously, as both he and his clones got into position.

"That's an interesting sword you got there, brat. When you're dead, it'll make a fine addition to my collection."

Naruto didn't answer as he and his clones closed their eyes and began emanating a blue aura around their bodies as they began collecting chakra. Their eyes snapped open, showing the once cerulean-blue color to become more defined and glowing with intensity.

Zabuza quirked a non-existing eyebrow at what the boy was doing and his appearance in doing so.

"Excalibur no jutsu, Tosatsu! (Art of Excalibur, annihilate!)" All three Narutos shouted in unison and then, suddenly, disappeared.

Zabuza's eyes widened as he suddenly brought his blade up in front of him to catch the maelstrom of swings, thrusts, and strikes that the three Narutos were unleashing upon him. Their blades exhibited a heavenly glow and the power behind them was uncanny for a mere Genin to possess. Two of the Narutos appeared in front and made a devastating horizontal swipe that brought his sword away from him while another appeared behind him and thrust forward at his unprotected back, cutting right through. However, 'Zabuza' soon shrank and then turned into water and splashed to the ground along with his 'sword'. All three Narutos panted heavily until two of them dispersed, leaving one standing on one knee gasping for air, his arms shaking.

His team and Tazuna, having watched the entire thing gaped in awe at the skills the boy possessed. However, their muses over Naruto ended as the mist soon cleared and they turned their attention back to where Hayate and Yugao had previously engaged Zabuza to see Yugao on the ground clutching her wounded leg and arm, Hayate on the surface of the water in the middle of the stream. He was suspended in a sphere of water being held by Zabuza who looked to the Genin group surrounding Tazuna.

"Here's the deal, your sensei's life for that old man's."

Naruto and the others scowled. Yugao was feebly trying to stand on her feet and Hayate too looked injured as well with the nasty gash on his shoulder, which he was clutching.

"Don't worry about me!" He yelled, "Protect the client! That's your first duty!"

Naruto stood back on his feet, his legs mimicking his still shaking arms. He looked to his teammates and saw the same resolve in their expressions. Nodding at them he turned to Tazuna who seemed to catch on with where their minds were.

"Go ahead and get your sensei, its fine by me." He replied.

Naruto nodded and then looked to Tenten who nodded and brought out three fuma-shurikens. Lee grabbed two and broke out into a speed towards the two on the water.

Zabuza smirked, "Looks like they're disregarding your order, Leaf Nin. This'll be amusing while it lasts."

Hayate coughed and shuddered as the pain reverberated to his wounded shoulder. He wondered in his head what the three were possibly thinking.

Lee stopped short of Yugao's location and threw the two windmill shurikens at Zabuza with deadly accuracy.

Zabuza smirked as he jumped over them but then widened his eyes as he saw two more heading to meet him head on. With his hand still supporting the water prison on Hayate, he arched his back just in time for the two deadly spinning blades to go sailing over him. When he finally came back to the ground, he noticed the green spandex wearing kid had safely retrieved one of their two senseis, the other, the bun-haired girl; was loading up more throwing weapons to go at him.

"It'll take more than that to get at me! Now hand over the old man!" He yelled.

"Excalibur no jutsu, Terasu! (Art of Excalibur, Blaze!)"

Zabuza wipped his head around and saw the blond kid with his unique weapon, which was now blazing in fire, come running towards him on the water's surface.

Zabuza grabbed his sword with his free hand and prepared to deflect the attack, however when the two blades met, the sparks ignited by their clashing came at his eyes which felt like being bombarded with white-hot embers. The heat coming off from the flames was beginning to unnerve him and seemed to blister his skin when coming into close contact.

Naruto poured more chakra into Excalibur and thus the flames intensified. He couldn't over power the man on strength but with the added heat he could force him to let go of the prison he had Hayate-sensei in.

The result was in his favor as when the heat intensified, Zabuza faltered and released Hayate from his captivity. Zabuza then backed off and stood on guard as Hayate soon came to his feet with his own sword ready.

Looking between the two: the blonde enigma with the incredible sword and his seasoned kenjutsu-expert sensei; Zabuza felt like he should have been paid more for this job.

To be continued….

A/N: Sorry to end on a cliffhanger but this is where it'll stop for now. I'll try to get the second part in by this weekend, until then please review and tell me the ups and downs of this chapter.

Q-n-P


	6. A CClass Mission to Remember, Part Two

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Six: A C-Class Mission to Remember, Part Two

Zabuza eyed both of his opponents, cautiously. Both had proven to go beyond what he had expected and now he could not afford to be dismissive of either them. He was running low on chakra as is, so jutsus were out of the question, if he wanted to make a quick getaway. Looking at each of his opponents, he could see the blonde brat was trying to stave off exhaustion and the sickly-looking Jounin was trying not to hold the wound where Zabuza grazed him on the shoulder. They were not disabled, though and he knew both of them had it in them, just by the determined looks in their eyes. His options were lethally limited and any mistake on his part could very well result in his death. Playing it smart would probably be the best way to go for him in this situation. However, the blonde, now suddenly, brought forth five Kage Bushins, which made Zabuza scowl even more. Actually, not at what happened but more as a retrospect of what he has become; him, the Demon of the Bloody Mist reduced to this. He who in his Academy years killed every other participant in order to become a Genin for Kirigakure. He, whose name struck fear in even the most veteran of Shinobi because of the reputation he had gained.

Zabuza snarled as he then became berserk in his attacks swinging ferociously at all of the blondes he could find and reduced them to the original. The sickly man attacked him from his side, which caused Zabuza to pivot on one leg attacking both sensei and pupil. The blonde's fiery sword still hurt like a son of a bitch when the ignited flame blade collided with his and the resulting sparks and heat scorched and blistered his skin. The sickly man's attacks seemed to want to drive his attention away from the man's student by attacking him effortlessly from multiple areas around the body, causing Zabuza to guard each and every one of those areas.

"Excalibur no jutsu, Assuru! (Art of Excalibur, Dominate!)"

Zabuza whipped his head around as he saw the blonde coming at him once more, although this time the sword was no longer blazing in fire but instead took on a Han-blue aura which enveloped its owner as well, his eyes practically ablaze in the color itself. The boy came to a screeching halt about two feet from Zabuza and swung the sword from the bottom up on high to Zabuza's mid section. Zabuza, to his immediate surprise, having tasted the boy's meager strength; was unprepared for the force behind the hit the boy sent him as when he brought up his blade to guard, he was soon seeing blurred scenery. His body rocketed to a large tree where he made a full body imprint into the bark. Six ribs were broken and one had punctured his left lung, he coughed up blood as the whole world began spinning around him. It was at this moment that a new pain was experienced when two, thin, sharp projectiles suddenly pierced through his neck and exited from the opposite side. Realization hit Zabuza as he delved into the darkness everything leaving him from this world…

Naruto frowned as a person appeared, standing at his genuine height, the long obsidian-black hair tied at the end; wearing a hunter-nin's mask with the signature of Kirigakure on top.

The person bowed, "thank you, all of you for subduing Zabuza long enough so that I could take him out. I was afraid my abilities wouldn't suffice in taking out such a powerful nuke-nin."

Hayate eyed the Hunter Nin uneasily and then his eyes fell on the still Zabuza. He walked over and place two fingers on the man's neck. Finding no pulse, he spoke aloud, after coughing.

"He's dead, then."

He could hear Tenten and Tazuna sighing in relief. However, when turning to look at the group, he could see Yugao and, surprisingly, Naruto looking at the Hunter in with suspicious eyes. The Hunter Nin moved over to Zabuza's body, lifted it up, and took hold of his weapon with the other hand before he, along with the form of Zabuza, vanished in a blur.

When they were gone, Hayate collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and was immediately brought back onto his feet by Naruto who looked almost as worse for the wear as Hayate was. Hayate looked over the rest of the group and saw, besides Naruto and himself, Yugao was looking a little worse for the wear as she had a gaping wound on one of her arms and another on her leg. Tenten and Lee looked tired from either emotional or mental exhaustion due to having to keep guard and be ready should they need to act. Tazuna himself, while looking relieved, looked as though he was going to collapse from the anxiety.

"Is there a place in town you would recommend us to stay, Tazuna-san?" Hayate asked as Naruto helped him over t the group.

Tazuna sighed and then smiled, "You all are welcome to stay at my place. I'm sure my daughter and grandson would love the company."

Hayate nodded and then grimaced as moving his head caused pain to his wounded shoulder.

They arrived in less than three hours to Tazuna's home. Along the way, the group understood why Tazuna was so eager to change things by building his bridge, which would bring in money for the village itself, as they looked around at the disheveled-state the once prosper town was in. The prices of things being sold by people, whose air was that of smug superiority, a testament of Gato's hold on the town. The majority of the populace looked haggard and their eyes held little to no spark. The group from Konoha all held either pity, anger, or discomfort at the sights they saw. When they arrived at Tazuna's home, which was a quaint two-storied house next to the oceanfront; a young woman who looked beyond relieved at the site of her father's return greeted them.

"Tou-san! You're back! I was so worried when you left that one of Gato's thugs were going to get to you!" she immediately flung herself to her father and enveloped him in a hug.

"It's thanks to these brave men and women that I'm alive." He motioned his head to the group behind him and Tsunami finally looked past her father at them. She let go of her father and approached the group and then bowed to them.

"Thank you, all of you, for protecting my father and accepting this job."

Hayate waived off her concern, "It's no problem, Tsunami-san. It's our job and we're happy to help someone in need." His speech was absent of the regular coughing fit as hours earlier, Naruto had offered him the chance to become fully healthy along with repairs to the injuries he sustained when fighting Zabuza. At first, he felt a little reluctant, his pride making him want to heal by his own methods rather than use the unusual ability his student possessed with that sword of his. However, a later argument with Yugao quickly made him have a change-of-heart. As a result, he felt better about the decision as he wasn't as limited as he was before and no longer had to push himself beyond his own limits. Naruto joked that _he_ was happy that he now had a sensei who wasn't going to die during his Chuunin career. Hayate had whacked him over the head for that one.

Tsunami led the group inside and showed them, first, to the guest quarters which was a room divided by a sliding paper-mesh screen. The guys put their belongings on one side while the two female companions put theirs on the opposite side of the screen. When they were finished, Tsunami offered them dinner and they were soon in the small dining room where a young boy with a bucket-shaped hat kept his distance away from the group. Dinner had been filled with small, quaint, conversations around the table as they ate their meal. However, a small withdrawn voice soon ended all conversations.

"Go back."

Everyone's eyes were soon on Inari, Tsunami's son.

"Excuse me?" Tenten asked with a raised eyebrow.

For the first time, since they met him, Inari showed his face, which held a hateful scowl.

"I said, go back. Leave. Go away. None of you are any match for Gato and his men! You're being here will only get yourselves killed and my Mom and my Grandpa for having you here! So leave!" He was now standing and seemed to shake with unbridled anger with each word he spoke.

"Not going to happen." Naruto said, surprising everyone since he had yet to say one word since he healed Hayate. "We were hired to do a job and that's to protect your Grandfather while he finishes the bridge and saves your town."

Inari slammed his fists on the table, "That doesn't matter! You're all still going to die! Gato was way too many men, he'll slaughter you all!"

Naruto looked at Inari, for a moment, and then closed his eyes and sighed, "Wow, this guy scares you a lot, huh?"

Inari's eyes seemed to tear up but he did not respond.

"This whole village seems to have lost its spark and I can see that in you as well." Naruto said, sadly. "However, Gato doesn't intimidate me. He hides behind money and the men that he gets with that money. He's nothing but a weak little tyrant. Take away his men and his money that he uses to influence people and you have nothing. He's a coward preying upon those who can't fight back or are too afraid to."

Inari gritted his teeth as he pointed at Naruto, "You're only high and mighty because you've probably been living the easy life! You've never known pain and fear!"

Naruto stood up and his chair slammed as it hit the floor. His gaze was narrowed upon Inari who looked a little frightened at Naruto's sudden change. Naruto's eyes glowed a malevolent sapphire as he scowled at Inari.

"Do you really want to play a game of 'whose life was/is worse'? We can, if you like, although I already know the outcome of the game."

"Naruto…" Hayate said, warningly.

Naruto closed his eyes and exhaled out an irritated sigh before turning and exiting the room.

"Naruto-" Tenten began but was cut off by Naruto.

"I'm going to train."

No one stopped him and no one spoke until after he had left. Inari though, scowled after the boy before retreating to his room. When both boys were gone, Tazuna apologized for his grandson's behavior and then, when inquired, told a story of a man whom Inari looked up to as a surrogate father and how he was the first and last to defy Gato and his men. His death not only signified the end of Inari's hope but the rest of the village's as well. By the end of the tale, Most the Konoha Nins' thoughts were occupied by the story they were told, the others processed the information with what they knew of the tyrant Gato and how it would apply to the two new men under his employment. It was made known to the entire group of the false Hunter Nin in actuality was a colleague of Zabuza's. which would mean that he was healing and in probably a week's time, he would strike once again. With the knowledge of these two and knowing how deep Gato's pockets were; they could understand the intimidation the town felt under Gato's reign of terror.

Naruto didn't know why he was getting himself so worked up over so much because of what that little kid said. He thought he had been over that a long time ago where he let somebody get that far under his skin. Yet, being in the presence of someone who had the support of family when he had none and never living a life where you were in constant danger of your life; made Naruto angry.

Creating several dozen Kage Bushins, Naruto released all his anger sparring against said clothes in all the techniques and abilities he had in his repertoire. By the defeat of the very last clone, Naruto slumped up against the tree physically and emotionally exhausted. Sleep soon came to him and he welcomed it. It was a dreamless sleep and he was awakened only by approaching footsteps. With his eyes remained closed he used his others senses to identify as to whom it was. It wasn't anyone on his team, nor was it the bridge builder or his family. He at first was going to dismiss it as a regular person, probably someone from the town when his nose caught the scent of blood on the person. It was old, but it had a particular scent, one that was reminiscent of Zabuza when he was injured.

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he focused on the person who was about to prod him awake, instead pulling their hand back. She was about Naruto's age, dressed in a flower-patterned kimono with a purple obi tied around her frame with a bow made in the back. She had long dark earth-colored hair, which was tied together into a ponytail that reached her waist behind her. Despite her having the smell of Zabuza's blood on her, she also smelled of herbs and lilac. Naruto could only deduce one thing; she was probably the disguised Hunter Nin that helped Zabuza.

"You're going to catch a cold out here." She said, warmly.

Naruto, disguising his inquisitiveness with looking drowsy, yawned as he stood up stretching. It seemed that she either didn't recognize him, which was unlikely due to his hair color, or she dismissed him as a threat and was going to play off his ignorance of her identity and probably try to gain information on him and the group. However, two could play at that game.

"What'cha doing out here so late, yourself?" He questioned with his patented fox-like grin on his face.

The girl smiled as she gestured to the basket by her side. "I'm gathering herbs. A friend of mine is really sick and I'm collecting these to help make him better."

Naruto smirked, inwardly, at her confession that she was treating Zabuza. The fact that he was alive didn't surprise him and now he was going to play this to its fullest to get some info out of her.

"Really? That's too bad. How did he get hurt?"

This time she didn't answer right away. She seemed to study him for a moment before she returned her pleasant smile. "He had an accident."

It was short, but Naruto didn't give away that he knew more or suspected her of being someone else.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked, looking at all of the scorch-marks and the disfigured trees in the surrounding area.

"Training." Naruto said proudly, puffing out his chest for theatrics, "I'm a ninja."

She gave a serene smile. "Really? A ninja? That must be a hard life."

"It is." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Now he had her; hook, line, and sinker. He looked to her basket and then back to her, "Uh, could I help you, maybe, Miss?"

She looked at him, but not as long as before, before smiling and nodding.

The two of them spent awhile searching for the particular herbs that she needed. Naruto was surprised at how adept she was with herbology as when he showed her two plants believing them to be of the same, she quickly pointed out his error as there were subtle differences in the shapes of the leaves on said plants. Naruto was impressed but he slowly let it die as he reminded himself she was the enemy. However, nothing could prepare him for what was going to happen next.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Naruto and yours?" He asked.

"Haku." She said smiling as she still kept at her work pulling up the herbs as she continued their conversation. "Tell me, Naruto. Do you have someone precious to you?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the question and then repeated it several times in his head before answering nervously.

"Uh, w-what do y-you mean?"

Haku giggled before repeating her question, "Do you have someone precious? Someone that you'd lay down everything, including your life, so that they would always be safe?"

Naruto swallowed as he thought about her question, earnestly. The imposing question brought forth many faces: The Old Man Hokage, the Ichirakus, Iruka-sensei, Yugao-nee, Hayate-sensei, and even Tenten and Rock Lee. He smiled. Surprised that such a simple question could bring forth a larger revelation. He actually had people that were precious to him and they were many. Naruto turned back to Haku and nodded.

"I do. Quite a bit, actually."

She nodded, "They're what make you strong. Whenever you have something or someone precious to fight for, they'll make you stronger because you are fighting for them."

Naruto listened to her speech but frowned as he thought on it. He remembered how Iruka became in danger when he was protecting Naruto from Mizuki and vice-versa. Another image surfaced in his mind where he was trying to defend the Ichirakus, which led to him being threatened that if he ever went back there again that something bad might happen to the ramen cooks. Naruto remembered feeling guilty when he learned that because he disregarded the threat that Ayame had three of her fingers broken and Teuchi sporting a black eye. Both had reassured Naruto that he needn't worry about them and that the Hokage was looking into the matter. It had a profound impact on Naruto and made him less and less eager to extract revenge upon those that might hurt the people he cared for. Dwelling on these memories, he turned away from Haku and sighed.

"While I agree that having to protect those that are precious to you can give you the additional strength and drive, there are times where it can weaken you as well."

Haku's eyes seemed to narrow though she quickly changed and went back to her pleasant appearance.

"Really….Why is that?"

Naruto turned to her with a subdued expression. "If an enemy were to learn of things that made your life positive, the people that brought joy to it, they'd use that against you. The precious people in your life would be a constant target and, depending on the situation, because of how precious they are to you; they'd pay the price for having known you or an endless spiral of suffering would be the final result for both parties." Naruto noticed the sudden change in her eyes as she struggled to keep this charade of hers up and not let loose any emotions. Naruto respected her for how well she was playing this part, seeing as how he had played a similar role all his life up to this point. Now the curtain shall fall on both of their performances.

"Is Zabuza your 'precious person', Haku-san? You went through an awful lot of trouble to get him away from us, under the disguise of killing him as a Kiri Hunter-Nin. Now, you're gathering herbs to heal his wounds. He must mean a lot to you, am I right?"

Haku's expression went through a round a bout of emotions: surprise, denial, and finally, outrage. She leapt away from Naruto and produced three senbon needles between her fingers as she crouched and waited for Naruto's move. Bringing out Byakuya and Tsuki, Naruto launched himself towards the Kunoichi. Throwing her senbon, she immediately went through a one-handed seal process to perform a shunshin but was stopped when, after deflecting the senbon with his kukiris, Naruto threw at her a capsule that exploded. A net made of ninja wire with weights attached at the end caught her and wrapped around her as she was hurtled a few feet away. Naruto, immediately, jumped onto her position and was coming upon her when he was thrown back by the force of an ice dome that had forced itself around her. Naruto used Chakra to cling himself to a tree before springing forward down to the dome and using Excalibur slashed through one of the dome panels, breaking through. Inside, he found the remains of his wire net with Haku absent. However, her image soon filled the panels of the dome, her face covered in bruises and an expression of clear annoyance.

"At first I though it'd be best just to leave you and return to Zabuza-sama, but…." She then flew through one panel to the other, while doing so throwing our hundreds upon hundreds of senbon at Naruto. When she reappeared in all of her panels, her appearance was more subdued. "I think I'll teach you a lesson in mocking other people's beliefs."

Naruto scowled at her. "That's NOT what I was doing."

Haku, either not having heard his reply, or disregarding it entirely; continued going from panel to panel throwing endless amounts of senbon at him. Naruto was now, almost, covered completely in the needles, which were causing a toll on his muscles.

"Iyasu (Heal)" He intoned which caused all of the senbon to come flying out of his body. He brought both Excalibur and the scabbard out in front of him vertically as he called, "Excalibur no jutsu, Tate (Shield)!" All of Haku's senbon bounced off the blue glow that surrounded Naruto's body. Haku stopped inside one of her panels to catch her breath and also to gaze on in awe at what he had done. It seemed her senbon, before, was capable of passing through every single barrier one of her enemies erected; until now. Her musing were cut short when Naruto rocketed toward her location and slashed out with his sword. Haku barely managed to dive out of the panel and was met with a hard right hook from Naruto to her back, which sent her colliding into the earth and her jutsu falling apart, the dome shattering against the ground. Haku shuddered as she attempted to get back onto her feet, only to have Naruto come behind her with a kunai held at her neck. She elbowed him hard in the stomach, causing him to release her before she aimed a punch at his jaw. Naruto, recovering quickly, caught the wrist and punched her in the stomach. Falling down, gasping for air, she attempted to get up and aim a strike at his face only to have him hit her across the face, causing her to go back down again. Haku gritted her teeth as she then did a leg sweep and knocked Naruto on his back. Naruto groaned as he got himself back up for round three but found Haku still on the ground breathing hard. Naruto rolled onto his stomach, which still hurt from her punch, and made his way over to her. When he reached her, her eyes became feral as she lashed out with her arms and fists against him, only to have him grab her wrists and struggle with her flailing arms, like someone trying to strangle an eel. However, exhaustion got the better of her and she let her head fall back to the ground.

"Do it." She said in a defeated tone.

Naruto, breathing almost as hard as she was, quirked an eye brow at her instruction.

"Do, what?"

Haku scowled at him. "Kill me."

Naruto's eyes widened before they narrowed. He gritted his teeth.

"No. I won't kill someone who's so much like me. It'd be like killing a part of myself and I'd much rather know you more before I take on the role of the one who ends your life."

Haku, this time, narrowed her eyes and coughed several times before she shouted at him.

"We're nothing alike! I failed my precious person! I'm a useless tool for Zabuza-sama to wield! I was defeated! Now kill me!"

Naruto's expression softened as he sighed, shaking his head.

Haku, for the first time looked at Naruto, or rather took more into depth as she saw something within his deep cerulean eyes that was almost like looking into a mirror. Budging for a little more against him, she finally let her arms drop and she bit down on her bottom lip and began to cry. Why was she crying? Was it out of defeat, because she had been bested and had failed Zabuza-sama? Or was it because she found someone who seemed so much like her, it hurt to realize and accept it after living a life as she had for so long.

Naruto waited for her to calm down and let out whatever it was that she seemed to be holding in for longer than he has known her. He waited until she caught her breath before he spoke.

"You okay?"

Haku's eyes widened at his question but soon they relaxed as she chuckled, despite herself.

"I'll live." She then used her shoulder to wipe her eyes as the blonde-haired swordsman still had her pinned down by the wrists. She looked up at him and soon found herself admiring certain features about him that she hadn't seen before. As the morning's soon was inches up from the horizon, she could make out more details by the sunrise's glow upon his back, giving him a sort of radiance. His features in her mind were handsome. His eyes held unbelievable depth for someone of his age and the feelings she got from looking at them were pleasant. Those Han-blue orbs of his captivated her. Right now they a expectant, yet nurturing feel like that of her late mother's arms when something was troubling her. Her mother….

Haku closed her eyes and sighed before opening them and looking at Naruto again.

"You said that you wanted to know me before you killed me, is that right?"

Naruto frowned and then he nodded. He didn't like how she phrased his statement but technically she was right.

Haku closed her eyes once more. "I was born in a small village outside of Kirigakure during the Bloodline purge that was going on throughout Mist Country. When I was six, I found out that I had a bloodline when I accidentally made a small figurine out of ice. Proud of my discovery, I showed my mother who seemed terrified that I had done what I had. She gave me a short story how we were the last of a long line of Hyouton users and that the two of us were the last of the line. My mother had fallen in love with a man, my father, who later declared that he despised those with a bloodline and considered them freaks of nature. He joined the bandwagon of the murders of Kiri who killed anyone who had a bloodline. My mother warned me never to use this ability again as if my father found out he would kill the both of us. Unfortunately, my mother didn't heed her own advice. She had used her ability to put out a fire in the kitchen just as my father walked through the front door. In front of my own eyes he stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife until she didn't move or speak anymore." Haku saw that Naruto looked between horrified and murderous when he heard the last part. Inside Haku smiled for the boy's concern and the fact he seemed to care, no matter how foolish it was for him to do so as a Shinobi. "His sights were soon on me as he suspected 'like mother, like daughter'. However, the coward that he was, he waited until he had a whole group to join him as he soon attacked me." Haku closed her eyes before opening them with a dead expression donning her eyes. "I killed him. Just before he could stick the knife he held into me, I used my new found abilities and stuck an ice blade right into the base of his skull." Haku, expecting some sort of reaction out of Naruto after that revelation, she was surprised to see none as he looked at her with patience for her to continue. She looked upwards as she continued, a smile on her face. "I had ran out of the village and was living on the streets of Kirigakure for about a year or so after that had happened. That's where I met Zabuza-sama. At first he paid me no mind but later, the next day, he came to me and told me that he had no desire to see me as a human but only to sharpen and mold me into the perfect weapon for him to use. He saved me from a life of nothingness and return I help him in his goal to bring down the Mizukage and restore the honor that he had lost when his first attempt had failed." She looked back at Naruto to see his eyes closed, his brow furrowed as he looked to be in a deep thinking process. Haku shifted her eyes back to the basket she had left when she had engaged Naruto on the field. She still had to get back to Zabuza and warn him of Naruto's abilities. A sigh escaping from him had her divert her eyes back to him as his slowly opened with a saddened expression.

"We're more alike than you can possibly know. Haku-chan."

Haku's eyes slightly widened by the affectionate add on he attached to her name, which, as a result, caused her to blush a bit.

"W-Why do you say that?" she stumbled, looking away.

Naruto sighed before letting go of one of her wrists and striking her at the back of her neck, successfully knocking her out. Sighing, despondently, he hoisted her body up and carried her with him back to Tazuna's house where the others were surly awakening by now.

"I'll tell you when all of this is over. I just hope you can forgive me if I, or my team, kill your precious person, Haku-chan."

To be continued….

A/N: sorry about the wait and I apologize for ending on yet another cliff hanger. This was supposed to be a two-part story arc but as I got more into it, well, I couldn't help myself. The next one will definitely end the Wave arc (fingers crossed) and then the Chuunin Exams will start. As most of you can tell, I've settled on Haku to be Naruto's love interest. Yet, as you can see by how I tweaked her character, not to mention the whole story of his meeting her (It's an anternate universe, so, hey, let me be creative); she's a completely different person and as the next chapter will go; I'll go into depth on Naruto's motives for keeping her alive (and a prisoner, I know). I'm still debating on Zabuza's fate as I've read both good and bad fan fics where he was sspared for Haku's sake. I'm still indecisive about it, but you're going to find out one way or another.

Please review and I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible.

Q-n-p


	7. A CClass Mission to Remember, Part Three

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Seven: A C-Class Mission to Remember, Part Three

Suffice it to say, when Naruto came back in, in the early morning, carrying a tied up teen girl over his shoulder; to say the other occupants of Tazuna's home were surprised would have been an understatement. However, Naruto motioned for them to keep their questions on hold as he walked up the stairs and placed the unconscious girl in one of the guest rooms and then quietly walked out, sliding the paper door closed as he left. Turning around, he was faced with his team and his senseis looking at him, questioningly.

"Naruto," Yugao began, "Why is there a girl tied up and knocked out in that room?"

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the door. "She's the 'hunter Nin' that supposedly disposed of Zabuza. I met her a few hours ago trying to pass herself off as a civilian gathering herbs."

His team had wide eyes at the revelation of the fact that the monstrous swordsman was still alive and that Naruto had uncovered his accomplice. Hayate and Yugao, though, showed no visible signs of surprise. Hayate merely chuckled.

"You're something else kid. You held your own against Zabuza, fairly well, and have managed to subdue his apprentice as well." Mirth left his face it became serious. "However, I have to ask, why you decided to take her captive instead of killing her."

"Are you asking as to what my motives were in sparing her life?" Naruto asked, seeing Hayate nod he got up from his position and turned towards the door. He sighed tiredly before turning back to the anxious group. "All I can say is is that she's more like me than you could possibly imagine."

It became relatively quiet after that statement, although it soon ended by Yugao closing her eyes and then opening them and looking at Naruto, cautiously.

"Naruto," Yugao began, "It's admirable that you decided NOT to take her life; however she's still a possible threat not only to us but to our client who she and Zabuza have been contracted to be taken out by Gatou. You do realize the threat you have caused by bringing her back here alive."

Naruto nodded, "I have, trust me. However, her loyalties lie only with Zabuza, not Gatou. If by some way, Zabuza could be convinced to drop this job then the two of them would stop their pursuit of Tazuna." Naruto sighed, "Most likely, though, I think we'll have to end his life in the end."

Both Hayate and Yugao nodded, agreeing with Naruto's summarization.

Lee, though, didn't understand. "Forgive me Hayate-sensei, but I don't understand. If Zabuza could be convinced to stop, why would we still need to kill him?"

Tenten sighed, "Lee, it's not that simple. He's a nuke-nin, a deserter, and worse, a killer with no remorse. Who knows how many he'll kill if we let him go."

Lee nodded and soon got a glint in his eye; holding up a fist he shouted, "Yosh! It'd ruin the flames of this land if we allow him to go on with his un-youthful ways!"

Naruto remained silent, turned, and walked away, leaving his confused teammates with their senseis.

"What's up with Naruto?" Tenten asked, confused.

Yugao sighed, "You remember what Naruto told you of his life and the problem he had to deal with." She watch both Genins nod. "Well, I think Naruto, no matter how much he wants to; he can't forget the memories when he still had that problem, physically."

"But what does that have to do with Naruto, now? He seemed saddened by this whole, 'we'll need to kill Zabuza, in the end', talk. What does it have to do with his past?" Lee asked.

Hayate sighed, "It's because he can relate to the girl, that's why. Remember what he told us? '_She's more like me than you could possibly imagine_.' I'm not sure as to what they have in common but," Hayate then moved off from the wall he was leaning against and proceeded to go after his blonde-haired student. "Something happened to where Naruto felt it was necessary to spare her life. Doing even that much, it's safe to assume that Naruto has some reservations of taking the life of her master, despite the fact that he knows that's where the road will ultimately go."

* * *

Naruto walked to the bridge from the house. He didn't really want to explain himself anymore than he already had; he knew that Lee and Tenten probably had more questions for him about what transpired out in the woods. However, he really didn't want to talk about it as a lot of it was discussion as well and he felt as if he shouldn't betray Haku's confession of her past to any of his team members….yet. Though, he felt he'll have to soon.

_Damn, _he sighed to himself, _Can things get anymore complicated?_

Naruto soon arrived to the construction on the bridge, Tazuna seemed to be barking orders to some stragglers on the job, impressively since Naruto didn't think the old drunk had it in him, based on his demeanor on their journey here from Konoha. Naruto continued watching the bridge builder in a new light until a fog began rolling in.

* * *

Hayate was going at a relatively easy pace before he heard the yells and screams coming from where the bridge was being built. Pumping charka into his legs, he dashed madly towards the bridge where he knew, instinctly, that it was where Naruto had headed when he left the group back at the house. A certain smell hit his nose and his eyes widened and he soon came to a complete stop as he was greeted with the sight of the bridge. Well, a partial sight as the bridge was condensed in a thick, familiar, fog. However, what _could_ be seen stopped him shortly before he picked his speed back up and headed towards the bridge, which was littered with disfigured bodies of the workers….

* * *

Naruto breathed hard as he felt another slash come at him from behind once again. His strength still paled in comparison to Zabuza's. When the Demon of the Mist arrived, he didn't say much, rather he slashed through nearly all the workers on the bridge before Naruto could thwart his taking of another life. The blonde Genin had made several Kage bunshins take Zabuza and those who were still alive and those who were wounded, back to the village to receive medical attention; another to reach his teammates and inform them of the attack. Naruto felt guilty for the innocent men and women who were helping Tazuna make this bridge of his a reality, fall to the cold and grizzly blade of Zabuza's before Naruto could be there to help them. However, one of the first things in the Academy that Iruka-sensei had taught was '_As a ninja, you'll see many deaths of people who shouldn't have died. There will always be death. However, there are those you can save and that is part of what you'll do as a Konoha Shinobi._'

_There will always be death in this line of work _Naruto thought to himself as he parried another stab from Zabuza_. Nevertheless, save as many as you can, yourself as well, and then mourn with everybody afterwards._ _Right now, you're in the fight to preserve life itself from death's hands...from Zabuza's hands….and that's why you have to kill him. _Naruto grimaced mentally while he cringed physically from the blows Zabuza was attacking him with, relentlessly.

For a man who had been literally beaten to within an inch of his life, Naruto was astounded by the sheer stigma this man possessed in his heavily bandaged form.

"Better pay attention, baka!" Zabuza yelled as he swung Kubikiri Houcho within inches of Naruto's exposed left shoulder.

Naruto's eyes shifted when the body of his sensei came into view with his katana parrying Zabuza's zanpaktou. However, despite his sensei's presence now added, Naruto continued his attempts to strike at Zabuza. Neither student nor teacher talked to one another as them began their assault on Zabuza, which seemed to not faze him in the least. Ascertaining the situation, Zabuza must have taken an abundance of soldier and chakra pills to help circumvent the injuries he was still recovering from their last encounter. Despite his handicaps, he was still able to produce the very fog that made him a formidable enemy as it concealed him. After nearly an hour of his assaults under this thick veil, Naruto felt he had enough.

"Hakai no kaze haro!" Pushing enough chakra into the jutsu he managed to, not only push away the fog/mist jutsu, but also expelled almost all of the Mizu Bunshins that Zabuza had been using in this fight. When it was all cleared, Zabuza, the real one, was about to reach at Hayate's back. Naruto threw multiples of his throwing weapons in different order at Zabuza, catching him in the joints of his left knee, thus making him grunt out in pain as he soon put pressure onto the leg, causing him to halt in his assault on Hayate. Naruto wasted any more time as he brought out Byakuya and Tsuki, running head long to Zabuza, the black and white Kukris pair held tightly in his hands arched back behind him. As soon as Naruto reached Zabuza, he came to a skidding to a halt as he had to nearly fall down to his knees avoiding Zabuza's swing of his massive zanpaktou overhead. Using one hand to steady himself and to bring back momentum, Naruto used the other to attack Zabuza's legs. He managed to catch a break when Tsuki's tip tore through the muscle of Zabuza's thigh. However, it was a short achievement as Zabuza kicked out with his uninjured leg sending Naruto spiraling across the ground, his vision and hearing distorted. Naruto coughed violently but, shakily, got back up, once more, his breathing taken in huge amounts. Sweat protruded heavily from his brow and became intrusive to his vision as it puddled up against his eyebrows before going into his eyes. Naruto was sore all over, his arms felt non-existent at times. Naruto's "rest" was up as quick as it had begun. Zabuza, appearing behind him, swung his sword down upon the tired blonde's head. Naruto's mind was forced to snap into focus and his arms went into a mode of their own as they curved and swung horizontally with both of his blade aimed at the exposed front of his enemy. Naruto watched expectantly, at first, felt satisfaction as he pierced through Zabuza's abdominal wall; skewering the Demon of the Bloody Mist's stomach and large intestine. It was replaced by the mind-numbing pain and coldness that suddenly went through him. Looking, he was now aware of Zabuza's own blade going through his collarbone, threatening to go clean through and take his entire arm off. Naruto's vision started blurring, due to the pain, however before Zabuza could complete the rough amputation, he was body-checked by Yugao who arrived on the scene, Tenten and Lee in tow. Thank Kami and all for his sudden reprieve, Naruto had difficulty taking out Excalibur but after he was able to, rasped out the jutsu to heal himself. Relief and energy took over him, as he was able to stand back up on his feet again with no trouble. Naruto observed what was happening since Yugao and the others suddenly arrived. Hayate and Yugao were in a fierce battle against Zabuza, who was clutching at his injured abdomen and seemed to be struggling in his stance against the two Leaf Jounins. Tenten and Lee were occupied with the two mizu bunshins that Zabuza had obviously tried to use against Yugao after she thwarted his attempt in cleaving Naruto into two. Watching both fights, Naruto was trying to decide who to assist when he suddenly became aware of the spectators on the bridge ahead of the two battles. Before he could do anything a familiar person appeared next to him.

* * *

_**-Forty-five minutes earlier-**_

_Zabuza-sama might still need me if he's going to be fighting all four of them. _Haku hoped to herself as she released the final, infernal, knot on the chakra-suspending rope that had her tied down. When she had first came to her last thoughts were of what that boy Naruto told her after he defeated her with relative ease.

_"We're more alike than you can possibly know. Haku-chan."_

The smile he gave and the words alone caused heat to rush up in Haku's face. She didn't know why she was feeling this way about those words…or the boy who said them. However they still had a profound effect on her, which confused her as she knew he was the enemy, right? Trying to rid herself of the image of the boy who had beaten her she concentrated on her stealth to make it out of the room and down the stairs leading towards the exit. Unfortunately, she could not detect a direct source of water to create her mirrors and escape expeditiously. Thus she had to use all her knowledge and resources to stealthily make haste and get back to her master. Her escape was halted when she heard the sounds of struggling outside of the house, then cries, and then someone shouting. Peeking around the corner to the stairwell, she saw one of Naruto's senseis, along with his two teammates, confronting a person she recognized as one of Gatou's samurai thugs, who was holding a woman hostage with his sword touching her throat. A little boy was yelling for the man to release his mother while the Leaf-nins seemed to be waiting for something. Haku watched with emotionless eyes. She wasn't a fool as to who their employer was and the unscrupulous ways he does his business, however, death had become such a constant in her life since she took her father's life. She'd be hypocritical to call herself anything innocent. However, no matter how much she tried to bury her feelings, they seemed to bubble back to the surface every now and then, which was the reason she felt sadness for the scene being played out in front of her and, like every other time, she had to wrestle her feelings to the ground lest she do something foolish like try to rescue that woman. Zabuza had taught her a long time ago:

'_In the Shinobi World, feeling the need to save anyone who can't save themselves is foolish. There's too many of them and it will only weaken you to the point where an enemy will exploit it and it'll be your undoing.'_

By his teaching, did she shed herself of the emotions he felt were inconsequential in the becoming of a shinobi. Still, moments like these, which Zabuza referred sourly as the 'moments of humanity' where she felt vulnerable and slightly questioning between what she was taught and what she felt. Haku was snapped out her mental self-evaluation as the scene before her changed as a clone of the purple-haired sensei tapped the samurai on the shoulder causing him to turn his head away from the group. The Weapons Mistress-in-training then lodged two throwing knives into the man's jugular causing him to release both the woman and his weapon as he clutched his fatal wound gurgling as he died bleeding out. After the group made sure the woman and son were safe, they then left quickly, most likely to the bridge where Haku guessed Zabuza was fighting the remaining two, Naruto and his other sensei. That's where she needed to go. She found her method of escape seeing a running faucet in the kitchen area. Making her one-handed signs, a rectangular panel of ice that was a clear mirror gave her the exit she was wanting. Soon, she found herself out in the wilderness and she repeated her method of making quick travel until she arrived at the scene of the fighting. However, it seemed to have stopped when she arrived and as she looked about she could see why. Gatou, the walking scab of flesh, strutted out arrogantly amongst his samurai cronies as he sneered at everything around him as if it were an ant compared to him in his _oh so glory_. His sights soon came upon Zabuza, who Haku could see was bleeding profusely from the abdomen, various wounds on his arms, and legs especially from his left knee in particular.

"Zabuza!" Gatou shouted, "Look at you, you're not a 'demon'at all! More like some has-been ninja."

Haku could see zabuza's eyes narrow dangerously at Gatou.

It didn't seem to effect the imp as he sneered all the more in triumph. "Good thing I decided not to pay you in the first place. You're a lost cause and a wasteful investment!"

_We weren't even going to be paid?! _Haku thought angrily as she mirrored only a fraction of the bloodlust that her master was practically pouring out of every pore of his body directed at Gatou. Again, Gatou acted as if none of this was happening.

"Kill the men, take the women. A bonus for the one that puts the 'Demon of the Bloody Mist' out of his misery."

The samurai showed the same arrogant smirks that their employer had.

Haku was a moment away from making a mirror to place her next to her master, when she saw him turning and….talking to one of the leaf nins. She couldn't hear what was being said but as soon as it ended she saw the male sensei of the Konoha group toss a kunai which was caught in Zabuza's mouth. Zabuza then turned and ran like a rampaging bull straight into the horde of samurai, straight for Gatou.

Haku immediately realized what her master was doing and she began the efforts for the jutsu so she could get there and be with him, to help him. However, she was stopped by someone. She didn't notice, as soon her eyes met with the scene of her precious person falling to ground his whole body riddled with multiple swords and weapons protruding from his body…

To be continued……

Chapter Eight: Healing

A/N: Apologies for updating late. I won't make excuses as I have put some things ahead of updating my stories. Sorry.

A/N: Well, like I said, this is the last of the "Wave arc" and the next chapter will move on in the groups return to Konoha and where the healing will commence and the begin of the Chunnin Exams. As with this arc, I'm going to put an entirely different spin than what I've read before and what happens in the canon.

Until next time.

Q-n-P


	8. Trials and Tribulations

Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Eight: Trials and Tribulations

Naruto stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom in Tazuna's house. Inside the room, sitting in a chair, facing the window was Haku. The girl showed no signs of recognizing Naruto's presence since he arrived fifteen minutes before. Naruto had mixed feelings about how he should approach her as he was somewhat responsible for her precious person's demise and had a hand in keeping her from joining him in death. Literally, he had a hand as when he had seen her arrive and knew what she was going to attempt; he immediately sought to stop her and restrained her as she watched her master, Zabuza, die after killing Gatou and fighting the rest of his hired men. However, there was another reason as to why he was hesitant to approach her as the words from his senseis kept ringing in his ear….

**_-A Week Before, on the Bridge-_**

Haku was shouting, screaming, and sobbing hysterically as she thrashed around in Naruto's grasp while never tearing her eyes away from where her master, her most precious person, Zabuza Momichii, The Demon of the Bloody Mist; lay dead and defeated. Then her mind seemed to practically shut itself down and she fell to her knees like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Naruto watched with a heavy heart, as she became a silent, twitching, mess. However, half of his attention was on the scene of Inari, Tsunami's son, leading the majority of the populace to come to help save his grandfather and the others working on the bridge. However, their presence was not really needed as Yugao, Tenten, and Lee had managed to wipe out the remainder of Gatou's horde, what little remained running for their dear lives. In a span of nearly three hours, the threat that was both Zabuza and Gatou was over. The town erupted in a vast cheer in response that they have gained their freedom after years of tyranny. Naruto snorted at the fact that had he and his team had not accepted the mission and rejected Tazuna outright for lying to them, this whole village would be whistling a different tune, one of surrender and obedience. The blond-haired Genin sighed and shook his head. These people had a right to celebrate and he should not berate them for taking this long to find the courage to confront those that oppressed them. In the midst of his musings, Naruto missed his team coming right up to him and his shaken person, still held with her hand behind her, tightly.

"Naruto-kun, is she all right? She looks really bad." Yugao kneeled down next to the girl who was staring out into space muttering in faint whispers, "Zabuza-sama", repeatedly.

Naruto sighed sadly, as he looked down at the girl before swinging his other arm underneath her knees and picked her up, bridal style, and held her closely to him as, in a way, to convey to Haku that she was all right. However, she didn't respond to this action as her eyes were glazed over and her mutterings continued. Avalon's Champion saw his teammates look sadly at her while his senseis seemed to be thinking.

Hayate was the first to speak, the formerly ill-Jounin sighed before walking up to his student.

"Naruto, there's something you need to know….as does Haku."

Naruto's eyebrows lifted in surprise that his sensei found out what her name was, as he had never revealed her name. He suddenly heard Haku stop muttering though tears escaped from her eyes, he looked at her gave her a squeeze to try to reassure her. He turned back to his senseis, nodding to them while Haku seemed to shake and stare off into space.

"Well," Hayate began, "Before Zabuza took my kunai…"

**_-Flashback: twenty minutes earlier-_**

_After Gatou gave his smug order to his men, Zabuza sighed, despondently before turning towards Hayate._

_"Leaf-nin, I have a favor to ask."_

_Hayate raised an eyebrow, "A favor?"_

_Zabuza closed his eyes before turning to meet the eyes of the grinning henchmen of Gatou, reaching for the swords as they made their slow approach. _

_"Use Haku well. Don't let her talents turn to rust."_

_Hayate's face, at first, became contorted in confusion before realization hit and he nodded in understanding._

_Zabuza continued looking ahead, though it appeared that he, at least, saw Hayate's answer. He then turned to look at Hayate_

_"Well, I'm officially not your enemy anymore. Your bridge-builder's safe from me. So, got a kunai?"_

_Hayate smirked as he tossed him one, which Zabuza caught between his teeth as he faced with oncoming horde of samurai with animalistic-eyes. _

_"By the way," He said with the kunai in his mouth, "That blond-baka of yours…he's coming along fine." He said no more, nor did he look back at any of the remaining Leaf-nins as he soon headed straight for Gatou…_

**_-Flashback, ended-_**

Naruto, surprised by Zabuza's request, not to mention his off-handed compliment towards him; looked at Haku to see how she would react. Sadly, she was still in her catatonic-like stare, still whispering Zabuza's name in repetition. Sighing he turned to his senseis, Hayate being the one who seemed to be waiting for answer.

"You understand, Naruto, that I have no authority to grant such a request from an enemy nuke-nin. It is a completely obscure request. However, I don't know Haku's past, so I cannot ultimately reject the man's last request. Should I honor his request at least until her case can be heard by the Hokage?"

Naruto nodded.

"You do realize the responsibility that comes with this, Naruto-kun?" Yugao added. "She's your responsibility and you know that she's not going to be happy with you when she recovers from her shock, despite whether or not you killed her master. Are you sure?"

Naruto nodded again, "It'd be easier to run from this, but I believe she deserves a second life." He sighed, "She may hate me for the rest of my life, but I'm not going to regret stopping her from throwing her's away."

Hayate nodded and left to walk over to the people of the village and offer their assistance in helping in the burial of their lost friends.

Yugao smiled, nodding as well, and then left to join Hayate. Tenten and Rock Lee approached Naruto with Lee shouting out about 'Naruto brilliant flames of youth' or some other thing. Tenten, while ignoring her green-spandex-clad partner, commented as well as to how she approved of Naruto's decision and then went on into questions about what type of a fighter Haku was. All through this, not once did Haku look at any of them or acknowledge that she had heard them.

**_-Back inside the guest bedroom-_**

A full week had passed which had Haku snapping out of her stupor but remained quiet and distant. Yugao told him that she had spoke with Haku for a little while, retelling her of what Hayate had said of her master's request, as well as the fight itself as it was the only thing Haku wanted to know. Naruto was not sure what the end result of all of this would be. A part of him really wanted her to forgive him while another respected her decision to not speak with him or acknowledge his presence. So far, Yugao has been the only one to have broken through to her, though it was only that one time as Haku, then, completely shut herself off to everyone once more. Watching her now, Naruto breathed out a sigh before turning to leave.

"I wasn't your fault."

It was quiet and barely above a whisper, but it had caught Naruto's ears as he was soon back to his position and he replied a little louder to her.

"I'm somewhat to blame, though."

For the first time in over a week, Haku turned in her chair and looked at him with parched red eyes.

"Zabuza-sama…died fighting; he had always told me that was the way he wanted to go." She chocked on a sob, her throat probably sore. She looked down, closing her eyes before taking a few unsteady breaths and then opened her eyes and looked directly into Naruto's. "At first I was furious that you denied me the right to die as Zabuza-sama's weapon. But, after talking with your sensei; I have a little bit more of an idea as to why you did what you did and her telling me what Zabuza-sama's last words were…well, it made me realize that I, unknowingly, would have went against my master's wishes, had I done what intended to." Haku then slowly rose from her chair and shakily walked over to Naruto, stopping before him. She closed her eyes and bowed deeply. "Arigatou, Naruto-san, for stopping me from doing something foolish."

Naruto blushed and turned his head away while scratching the side of his head, awkwardly.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

Haku nodded and then smiled, "I heard your sensei's version of what happened before I arrived. I'd very much like to hear your version as well."

Naruto nodded and smiled as he began telling her….

In a week and a half, the bridge had been completed; during that time, there had been no signs of retaliation from the survivors who had acted with Gatou. For the Konoha Nins, their senseis trained them harder than ever during this time of rest. From learning to walk on water using chakra, sparring upside down on a branch, with Lee being the exception to these exercises; to sparring with every kind of weaponry and learning how to defend from each kind. Haku was invited by Naruto to join their training to which she, at first, shakily did after having a long period of inactivity; her whole body was stiff and the muscles unused. However even after she had her rhythm back, she had moments where she would suddenly breakdown emotionally. Usually it was either Naruto or Yugao that were able to help Haku through her moments. Lee and Tenten, while having sympathy for Haku, weren't sure how they would help her as they still felt to be complete strangers to the ice user. Hayate, though, felt it was Naruto's responsibility to help her through this period of grief. The three still helped the girl as much as they could and by the time the bridge was finished it seemed Haku was better than before. Still, they all knew she wasn't completely over losing her precious master.

Naruto sealed the rest of his things just as Haku entered his room with a similar scroll holding all the things she had over at Zabuza's old hideout. At first Naruto was going to send a shadow clone with her to make sure she was all right and, hopefully, prevent her to from going farther into grief and possibly taking her own life. Apparently, she seemed to have known what he was thinking as she had stopped short from her journey and told the clone that she'd be fine before discreetly taking out a senbon and striking the clone in the shin and dispelling it. Thus, Naruto smiled as he turned to her and his eyes comically widened, slightly, as he took in her appearance. The longhaired brunette has dressed herself in a lily-white kimono with orchid and crane patters along the bottom. The obi was crimson red in color, her hair tied back into a bun using senbon dyed red to disguise themselves, and her face was lightly atoned in makeup.

Overall, Naruto thought she looked gorgeous.

"Uh…Uh…." Was his intelligent response, his eyes still wide and he nearly fell over.

Haku giggled at his reaction. "I'm glad you approve, Naruto-san. I decided to go like this when we enter your village as going in as a Shinobi may draw unwanted attention and may prevent me from gaining an audience with your Hokage."

Naruto nodded as he picked up his scroll and pocketed it. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then walked with her out to meet with his team. After the goodbyes to Inari, Tazuna, Tsunami, and some of the villagers; the group from Konoha, plus one, made their trek as fast as possible back to Konohagakure no Sato. Pausing only once for a meal, the time was made up with Tenten and Lee breaking out of their awkward shells and began telling Haku stories of Konoha. Haku began to show a little reluctance after Tenten had told her of the village's pride in having numerous bloodlines; however, Naruto quietly assured her that he would let NO ONE treat her as breeding stock and would go nuke before that would happen. It seemed to help her spirits that and Naruto's assurance that the Hokage would not be someone who'd pressure her, or anyone else, into a position that they were reluctant, if not resilient, to take.

Haku felt safe around Naruto, that was a given. She could feel she could trust him despite of their roles previously being enemies to one another. He was a comfort zone where she would always be welcomed. With the others in his group, she was hesitant and cautious around them. Although Yugao-san exuded a pleasant atmosphere, to disregard her of being a professional assassin and her skills as an accomplished Kunoichi, would be tantamount to suicide. However, despite how Naruto made her feel, she knew she would soon have to build her own strength without leaning, emotionally, on those she perceived as a pillar of emotional support, like Naruto and Zabuza. Looking at Naruto caused other emotions to come bubbling to the surface, ones that made her glade her make-up kept well hidden.

The gates to the village soon appeared and within a matter of minutes, everyone was inside and Haku got a good glance of the 'Village hidden in the Leaves'. It was quite spacious and the street they were walking on was alive with people's chatter and with children running about in a carefree manner. This was the exact opposite of the demeanor of the Village hidden in the Mist. However, upon closer observation, Haku could see some similarities one being the Shinobi constantly being in movement on the rooftops and the glares towards those one was unfamiliar with. There was something different, though, this time. There were words, but instead of murmured, barely coherent, ones these were made loud enough to hear.

"Great. The demon brat is back alive."

Haku was stupefied by this remark. She doubted heavily that news of whom she was apprenticing at a time would reach back to this village quickly and become common village gossip. Their eyes, burrowing in a hateful manifested glare, did not seem to be directed towards her but more rather the one next to her, Naruto. Turning to look at her friend, she soon found herself stumbling in shock as she gaped at what the boy now looked like. He was about a few inches shorter than she was and all of his arsenal was now absent. He wore an eyesore, a bright neon-orange jumpsuit with hints of blue and white on the cuffs and pockets. His face had gained some baby-fat making his cheeks somewhat pronounced and on said cheeks were three whisker-like marks on each one. Quite frankly, he looked exactly the opposite of what a shinobi should look like. Haku consciously reached out with her chakra senses and found a very thick Genjutsu wrapped around his entire body and even his pores to mask his smell as well.

Haku leaned down, which was a change, and whispered into Naruto's ear, _"Why are you looking like that? It makes you look like an idiot."_

To her surprise, Tenten had heard her as she muttered, "Told you so, Naruto."

Naruto huffed at her rebuke but looked up to Haku and mouthed, "I'll tell you later inside."

Haku nodded and walked with them the remainder of the way and soon they were all outside a set of massive oak doors emblazoned with a black symbol of fire on the outside. When they arrived, the secretary had told them that the Hokage was in the middle of a meeting with his advisors and would be available in a short time. Thus everyone waited, Tenten conversing with Haku about senbon used in battle while Lee and Naruto talked about the pros and cons of using weapons with various Taijustsu stances. By the end of it all, Naruto and Lee were still in the midst of their debate when the doors of the Hokage's office opened and the advisors soon left. The secretary went in first to see if the Hokage was ready for new visitors and, after getting the confirmation, she let everybody in.

Naruto was soon back at his apartment storing everything he had sealed in his scroll back to where they belonged. His mind, though, was preoccupied by what had happened in the Hokage's office shortly before they all had left…

**_-An Hour and a Half Earlier-_**

_Things were going pretty good as far as Naruto could see. The Old Man accepted Haku into the village and was assigning her to do some training with the ANBU to gauge her skills for a proper ranking. After dispelling the illusion around himself, Naruto gave a lengthy explanation behind having to hide behind the 'mask' of his former self, Haku seemed to accept it however calling him an idiot still, much like Tenten did. The Hokage seemed pleased with the report, despite how he had been lied to by Tazuna, and told all three of the Genin that they did an exemplary job. When all had been said and done, Hayate soon caught everyone's attention._

_"I think now would be a good time to announce that both Gai, Yugao, and myself have decided to nominate you three and Neji for the Chuunin Exams."_

_Everything was expressed with emotion as lee had his fist raised with a loud "Yosh!" to go with it, Tenten had excitement blazed in her eyes, while Naruto looked astounded and gave a "Huh."Naruto's expression became more serious as he turned to his senseis._

_"What should I expect?"_

_Hayate mentally nodded in approval for his student to not be so caught up in the excitement that he would go in blind like so many others before him. "We'll discuss that in three days while we allow you to get some rest. Then we'll be training you harder than ever to make sure you're ready for this. Oh and another thing Naruto." He then walked up to his student and placed his hands on both of his shoulders as he looked into his eyes, "Promise me this, if you're serious about taking this exam, then you should go in as a serious shinobi and leave your 'mask' behind."_

_Naruto's eyes widened, "What?"_

_Yugao sighed, "Nii-chan, although it's admirable of you to keep up this farce of you still being the Jinchuuriki, just to keep the mournful happy; it's time that you show everybody something they're not prepared for."_

_"I didn't get the reputation for being 'the most unpredictable ninja in training' just as a hand down title; I earned that for doing the unthinkable. Besides, going in looking as what I really am won't change people's perception of me." Naruto argued. _

_"Then what are you afraid of that you still want to hide behind an illusion?" Hayate asked._

_Naruto looked to the ground while everybody else looked at him, expectantly. That is, everyone save three: Haku, Yugao, and the Hokage._

_The Sandaime sighed as he gave a knowing nod, "You still want people to accept you, isn't that right, Naruto-kun?"_

_Naruto still stared at the floor but by not denying seemed to confirm Sarutobi's insight._

_"But Naruto-kun, Tenten, Gai-Sensei, Yugao and Hayate-Sensei; even Haku-san, we all accept you." Lee said with a confused expression._

_Yugao sighed as she kneeled down and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're right, Lee-kun, we all accept Naruto as he is, but the council and villagers…" She ended on an endnote, sadly, as she patted his head while Naruto gave a sigh._

_"Who cares?" Tenten said gaining everybody's eyes on her. "Who cares what their impressions will be after he reveals what he really looks like. What could they do?"_

_"They've managed to convince the entire village save a few people that I'm a demon who would eat their children when their backs are turned, that I'm responsible for all the deaths committed by the Kyuubi, and that I'm better off either exiled or executed. If I show what I really look like I might be looking at either being arrested or banned from the village." Naruto answered and then sighed before looking back at the ground._

_Tenten and Lee looked horrified at what Naruto predicted._

_"You can't be serious," Tenten whispered, "The Hokage wouldn't-"_

_The Sandaime raised his hand stopping her before sighing himself and looked sadly out of the window at the village. "It'd be nice if the title of Hokage matches the image and ideals talked about it. However, in reality, there is only so much I can do and much half is governed by a democracy of voting in the council. Naruto has some truth about how the council might respond to his new appearance." The Hokage then let a small smile loose on his face, "However, There have been moments where people might change for the better."_

_Naruto looked up from the floor at the Hokage with surprise. "But Jiji, it's been six years and-"_

_Hayate, this time, stopped the line of discussion. "Naruto as nice as it is for the Sandaime to spend so much time, it's getting late. Like I said, YOU need to decide whether or not you're going to do this. Nevertheless, my condition still stands. If you're ever to really rise in the ranks, you need to have faith in yourself even if others might not. Let me know in three days what your decision is."_

**_-End Flashback-_**

Naruto sighed as he put away the last of the items from his scroll. Could he really show himself? He had gotten so used to hiding everything from everybody but that soon changed with his senseis, Tenten, Lee, and finally with Haku. Could he really show his true self to a village filled with people who thought the Kyuubi had changed into a child just to mock their hurt and anger? What would the end result be? Naruto didn't know, however, he felt the best thing to do, right now; was to sleep on it.

To be continued….

A/N: Sorry for the wait and the next chapter will be up, hopefully, in a couple of weeks. Till then review this chap and let me know what you think of the series thus far.

Till next time,

Q-n-P

Chapter Nine: The Torture of Morino Ibiki (this will have an entirely different spin on it as well)


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